On May 24, 2020 U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle declared unconstitutional parts of a Florida law that would require people with felony convictions to pay off financial obligations before regaining their right to vote, paving the way for hundreds of thousands of Floridians to register to vote. He ordered the state to put in place a new process that would help people register to vote in the state.
Over a million Floridians were re-enfranchised by the passage of the Florida Amendment 4 in 2018. But the Florida legislature quickly tried to undermine it by passing a law requiring newly eligible voters to pay off all the exorbitant court costs, fines, and fees levied against them at the time of their conviction before voting.
The ACLU, the ACLU of Florida, the Brennan Center, and the NAACP Legal and Educational Defense Fund sued Florida on behalf of over a dozen people with felony convictions fighting to restore their right to vote, and on behalf of organizations including the Florida NAACP and League of Women Voters of Florida, that help register eligible voters.
Julie Ebenstein led that ACLU legal team! She’ll be our first guest.
In the second half of the show Gene Jones and Dan Callaghan from the Florida Veterans for Common Sense will present their political action plans and talk about the recent protests.
This appearance may lead to a regular WSLR program on veterans affairs!
Also, Veterans for Common Sense, a national veterans organization, has issued an open letter in the wake of the George Floyd murder and the threatened invocation of the Insurrection Act. The Florida Veterans for Common Sense invites all who have served in the U.S. military and agree to sign on to this letter.
If you’re a veteran, please see the letter and sign it HERE.