The Supreme Court, on Thursday, July, 16th, Blocked Several Hundred Thousand Florida Felons from Exercising their New Voting Rights in next month's Primary, unless they have Paid-Off their Financial Obligations to the State. The Decision was the First from the High Court in One of the Past Decade's most Important, Impassioned, and Complicated Stories, about Expanding Democracy.
The Justices Refused to Quickly Intervene in an Appeals Court Decision that is Preventing Felons Released from Prison from Registering and Voting until they Pay All Fines, Court Costs, and Restitution. The Ruling certainly Sidelines them from the Aug. 4th Primary and perhaps also the November General Election, when their Votes might Prove Dipositive in another of Florida's Razor-Close Presidential Contests.
The Court's Three most Liberal Justices: Ruth Bader Ginsburg; Elena Kagan; and Sonia Sotomayor, Dissented. Sotomayor, writing for the Three, said that Thousands of Ex-Felons are being Blocked from Voting in the Primary "simply because they are poor." "This court's inaction continues a trend of condoning disfranchisement," she wrote, Deriding the Rules at the Center of the Case as a "voter paywall."
The Decision is the latest Twist in a Complex Legal Battle that goes back to the Fall of 2018, when 65% of Florida Voters decided to Restore Voting Rights to Convicted Felons who had Completed their Sentences.
The following year, the GOP-Majority Legislature Passed a Bill, Signed into Law by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), that Requires Felons to Pay All their Court-Ordered Financial Obligations before Registering. It was based on the Rationale that those Payments Constitute Completion of a Criminal Sentence. That Law was then Challenged and Federal Judge, Robert Hinkle, Struck it Down in May, Ruling the Law created a "Pay-to-Vote" System that was akin to the Poll Taxes that were Barred by Constitutional Amendment during the Civil Rights Era. The State Appealed, and this Month the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Granted a Request from DeSantis to put the Judge's Decision On-Hold until the Full Court Could heard Arguments Aug. 18th, coincidentally or not, the same day as the Primary.
"This is a deeply disappointing decision," said Paul Smith of the Campaign Legal Center, the Voting Rights Advocacy Group that asked the Court to Allow Felons to Vote Right Away. An Estimated 85,000 Felons have Registered during the Period in the Legal Wrangling when that was Allowed.
As many as 1.4 million Ex-Felons were Covered by the Voters' Decision, but about Half of them appear to have some sort of Financial Obligations to the State, although how Many of them and how Much they Owe, remains a Mystery because of Poor Government Record-Keeping. That Confusion is cited by Voting Rights Groups as One of the Reasons why the New Law Amounts to Unconstitutional Voter Suppression. But how many ultimately would Register and Vote is Uncertain, and now will continue to be. The Deadline for getting on the Rolls in time for the Primary is Monday, July, 20th.
Since Florida's Felon Population, like that of almost All States, is Disproportionately Black and Latino, a New Burst of their Votes would almost certainly Propel Joe Biden to Carrying the State's 29 Electoral Votes. President Trump won them last time by less than 1 point.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
