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A hundred years after women earned the right to vote, they’re now the fastest-growing group of people losing it. Part 4 of this series examining felon disenfranchisement looks at how and why women are being incarcerated, and how the issue affects Black women in particular.
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After years of voter disenfranchisement, Floridians had finally had enough. In 2018 state voters approved a constitutional amendment restoring voting rights to most felons. The legislature attempted to stymie that effort by passing a state law requiring them to repay fines, fees, and restitution. A lawsuit ensued, with organizations like the ACLU claiming the law amounted to a poll tax, and Republican lawmakers defending it. This story takes a look at what’s happened with the amendment since it passed, and the push to get people signed up to vote before the August primary.
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Florida is appealing a ruling that says it cannot require felons to repay fines, fees, and restitution before registering to vote. Opponents call that requirement a poll tax. The ruling came two years after voters approved a state constitutional amendment allowing most felons to receive their voting rights back. The second part of this series looks at the history of felon voting and what led to 2018's Amendment 4.
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Voter registration advocates are rushing to register new voters in the run-up to the August primary and November presidential election. In Florida, the effort has been slowed as the state fights a lawsuit over whether felons have to repay fines and fees before they can vote. The first of a four-part series examines the implications of Florida’s Amendment 4, and the ongoing battle over felon voting rights.
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Florida felons don’t have to repay fines, fees, and restitution before registering to vote. That’s according to a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle. He issued his decision Sunday after hearing arguments earlier in the month over a 2019 law that implemented a 2018 constitutional amendment to restore voting rights to most felons in Florida.
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In 2018 Florida voters agreed that felons should have their right to vote back once they’ve completed their sentence. In 2019 the state created a law that tied repayment of legal financial obligations to that right. The law was challenged in court where plaintiffs have argued it created a poll tax. Closing arguments in the case were made Wednesday and the judge in the case appeared to agree with the plaintiffs.
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Attorneys representing Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration turned to a man who garnered international acclaim for his advocacy of a 2018 constitutional amendment designed to restore felons’ voting rights. Lawyers for DeSantis played a video deposition of Desmond Meade, who said he stands behind the disputed law, which the Republican-controlled Legislature passed last year to carry out the constitutional amendment.
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Curtis Bryant registered to vote in September, thanks to a Florida constitutional amendment aimed at restoring voting rights to felons who have completed the terms of their sentences. But the 39-year-old father of three is afraid voting might put him back behind bars.
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The federal trial over a 2018 Florida law requiring felons to pay off their fines and penalties is underway. Plaintiffs argued Tuesday about how difficult that can be.
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The trial over whether a state law can require felons to pay back fines and fees before voting started Monday morning.