New elections law 'a throwback to Jim Crow-era policies,' say voting rights advocates

Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker held an initial telephone hearing Friday in what could be a drawn-out legal battle over a portion of the new elections law aimed at carrying out what appeared on the November ballot as Amendment 4.

The amendment was designed to restore voting rights for felons who have completed terms of their sentences. But under the elections package signed by DeSantis, felons will have to pay financial obligations related to their crimes before they are eligible to vote.

Lawyers for civil-rights groups, voting-rights advocates, and people convicted of felonies allege the legislation unconstitutionally “creates two classes of citizens,” depending on their ability to pay financial obligations that many felons don’t even know about.

“Florida has a long, troubling history with voter suppression tactics, many explicitly motivated by racial discrimination — including the very felony disenfranchisement provision revised by Amendment 4,” said attorneys representing those challenging the new elections law.

Read more: https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2019/07/06/new-elections-law-a-throwback-to-jim-crow-era-policies-say-voting-rights-advocates