What Referendum? Florida GOP Set to Exclude Up to 80% of Felons From Voting

[DonViejo]

A House committee just passed language that would require fees be paid up before voting rights are restored—creating an insurmountable obstacle for many former felons.

Jay Michaelson
03.19.19 6:55 PM ET

When the people of Florida voted, by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, to allow former felons to vote in state and federal elections, progressives wondered how the state’s Republican-controlled legislature would respond. Now we know.

After a series of trial balloons—ignoring the referendum, delaying its implementation—the Florida House of Representatives’ Criminal Justice Subcommittee voted Tuesday to throw a huge roadblock in its path. According to the bill, approved on party lines, felons would first have to pay any outstanding fines and fees before regaining the right to vote.

While the condition may seem minor, in fact it creates an insurmountable obstacle for thousands of people the amendment was meant to help.

As approved by voters in November, Florida’s Amendment 4 requires the “automatic” restoration of voting rights to felons “who have completed all terms of their sentence, including parole or probation.” (It also excludes those “convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense.”)

Backers of the House bill say that fines and fees are part of the “terms of their sentence” which must be “completed” for restoration of voting rights to take place. Moreover, they point to statements by some voting rights activists that suggest that fines and fees are part of a criminal sentence.

more
https://www.thedailybeast.com/what-referendum-florida-gop-set-to-exclude-up-to-80-of-felons-from-voting?ref=home

[Chin music]

1. Why bother with ballot initiatives if the governments of FLA WI and MI are

just going to alter the law and rewrite it to suit themselves? It's appalling. Blatant, open cheating.
Almost like every ballot (gerrymandering , MJ, voting etc.) needs to have a paragraph that says the new law shall be implemented without change from the words the voters voted on. AS IF that needs to be spelled out. Fricken gop. They never ever stop. Seems the party needs to be defeated, and dismantled...then outlawed altogether as UNAMERICAN.

[zipplewrath]

2. They found the loophole

The authors of the amendment probably should have thought of this. I can almost guarantee that if you had included the words "including all fines and fees" in the amendment it still would have passed. I was a bit surprised that there was nothing about paying restitution to victims.

[Chin music]

3. It's conivery of the highest order.

And they just get away with it and it fades away.

[Captain Stern]

6. I think the authors of the amendment did think of this.

Based on the memo from the ACLU that is linked to in the article, it appears that the intention all along was to not restore voting rights to anyone that hadn't paid their fees, fines, or restitution.


[link:https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5775917-Florida-Simon-Mauer-Memo.html|

From the memo:

In that memo, the ACLU's Executive Director concludes that the impact of the scale of the proposed amendment should be described as follows:

"Under Amendment 4, as many as 1.4 million Foridians who have completed supervision of a felony sentence have earned a 2cnd chance to fully participate in their community and could be eligible for the restoration of their ability to vote upon payment of fines, fees, and restitution."

[marble falls]

4. Mandatory payment of fines to vote becomes a poll tax. That will not fly.

[Codeine]

5. That's a very compelling argument.

Hopefully that will tank this whole effort.

[uponit7771]

7. +1, the fact they're attaching payments of anything to voting is important. Also "terms of their....

... sentence" could be contextually related only to time.

I did think it was strange that the FL Gov. went through with this, knew it would be republicans who screwed people

[brooklynite]

8. No it is not...

A Poll Tax is an arbitrary fee applied to all prospective voters, regardless of means or justification. Fees, penalties and fines are a component of the sentence of a person convicted of committing a crime. If the ACLU doesn't see an issue with the language in the law, neither do I.

[marble falls]

9. Any payment required to be made prior to voting is a poll tax, even if its generation ...

comes from something else. Why not keep people who've defaulted on loans from voting?

And just because you don't get it doesn't mean its wrong.

[zipplewrath]

10. PRoblem is the conviction

These people have been convicted of felonies. It was legal to restrict their ability to vote. It is also legal to restrict their ability to get that right back. The fines are not connected with voting, they are connected to their convictions. Until they satisfy ALL of the sentencing directions, they are being told that they cannot vote. I don't see the court calling that a "poll tax", they'll call it what it is, a feature of their sentence. They owe it whether they want to vote or not.

[marble falls]

11. It is a poll tax whether you'd like to admit it or not. The ACLU does not agree with you ....

https://www.aclufl.org/en/issues/voting-rights/floridas-voter-restoration-amendment

Florida's Voter Restoration Amendment

It is a poll tax, its used to keep segments of the population from voting, disproportionately minority individuals.

[zipplewrath]

12. Not exactly

Restoring a person’s right to vote once they’ve fulfilled their obligations to society gives them an opportunity for redemption and a chance to be full members of their community.

The Legislature will make the case that their fines are part of their "obligations". The courts may well agree considering that the courts frequently are the ones that assessed the fines.

[SlogginThroughIt]

15. Just asked my FIL who is a ling time lawyer he said it will not fly

[maxsolomon]

13. Then their fines and fees need to be crowd-funded.

Much like the medical debt funding that's gaining popularity.

[allgood33]

14. Time to use some of the "star power" money to crowd-fund their fees. It can be done. Instead of

paying for political TV ad in FL, spend the money to pay fees.