https://thehill.com/regulation/cour...ons-who-challenged-florida-voting-requirement
February 19, 2020 - 11:31 AM EST
Court sides with ex-felons who challenged Florida voting requirement
A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld an injunction of a Florida law that barred ex-felons from voting if they had not paid fines and other fees related to their sentences.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit agreed with a previous district court's rule halting the law, which was passed by state Republicans in 2019 after a constitutional amendment went through the year prior enfranchising former felons. The three-judge panel ruled that the law violates the Equal Protection Clause because it unconstitutionally bars a class of felons from voting based only on their wealth
"It is undeniable that the [law's legal financial obligation] requirement punishes those who cannot pay more harshly than those who can," the appeals court said Wednesday. "We affirm the district court's preliminary injunction enjoining the defendants ... from preventing the plaintiffs from voting based solely on their genuine inability to pay legal financial obligations."
The amendment to Florida's constitution was first passed in the 2018 midterms, with nearly 65 percent of voters choosing to allow 1.4 million convicted felons to vote following their release from incarceration.