At the same time, he’s denying the resolute will of Florida voters who, in 2018, approved Amendment 4, which automatically restores ex-felons’ voting rights.
U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled unconstitutional a state law that denies people convicted of felonies, and who have served their time, the right to vote if they can’t afford to pay court fines and restitution to victims.
Hinkle said Florida Senate Bill 7066, the crux of the federal lawsuit by ex-felons and others, created a “pay-to-vote system.”
That’s why DeSantis, his predecessor Rick Scott and the members of cabinets slow-walk restoring ex-felons’ rights when acting as the Clemency Board, despite court rulings that it’s an unfair system.
Last spring, the Legislature passed, and DeSantis gladly signed, Senate Bill 7066, requiring that voter-registration officials receive proof that ex-felons have paid all fines, fees and restitution as a condition of issuing them a voter’s card.
