Did you know that this past Tuesday, some felons in Florida cast their first-time vote since voters there passed a 2018 ballot measure to restore voting rights to most felons?
The Florida Legislature passed a bill allowing convicted felons the right to vote soon after the ballot measure was approved by voters, but legislators decided that before felons could vote, all felons must first complete and or fulfill their obligation to pay all court fines and or court ordered restitution payments.
The decision to restrict voting rights as a privilege rather than a right was upheld by The Supreme Court with a July, 2020 decision. That decision impacts nearly 1 million convicted Florida felons who have a court-related debt.
Three of the Supreme Court most liberal justices–Sotomayor, Ginsburg and Kagan–dissented. The SCOTUS decision came just before the July 20, 2020 voter registration deadline, thus putting a hold on any voting for most Florida convicted felons
The recent Supreme Court decision gave Governor Ron DeSantis a victory as he signed a bill passed by the Florida legislature blocking those with felony convictions from registering to vote. DeSantis signed that bill into law this past June.
The Supreme Court in its decision, has also decided to send the case back down to the appeals court where a hearing was scheduled for August 18th which was our Florida Primary Day. Those felons who have paid all court ordered fines and or debts were allowed to move forward in their restorative right to vote.
No one knows for sure what the future Federal appeals court decision will be regarding the fate of voter rights for Florida felons but whatever the decision, felons will be mandated to pay all restitution costs if they wish to vote in any future elections here.