Florida appeals court decides felons must pay all legal fees before they can vote

ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida court of appeals decided Friday that felons in the state will not be able to vote unless they pay off all their fines.

The ruling overturns a lower court that originally said the payment of the fines in order to vote was unconstitutional.

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Thousands of convicted felons will now not be able to vote in Florida after a 6-4 ruling by the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals.

A federal court previously ruled a law that created wealth-based hurdles to voting is unconstitutional.

The law, SB 7066, requires people with past convictions to pay all outstanding legal fees, costs, fines and restitution before regaining their right to vote.

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FAMU law professor Dr. Jeremy Levitt said this ruling undermines Amendment 4, which voters passed in 2018. The amendment restored the constitutional right to vote for ex-felons, but not convicted of murder or sexual assault.

See the full report in the video above.

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