TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge in Tallahassee ruled Sunday night that Florida law can’t stop felons from voting because they can’t pay back any legal fees and restitution they owe.
In a 125-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle called the law passed by the Florida Legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last year a “pay-to-vote system.”
Hinkle’s order called court fees a tax and said it creates a new system for determining whether felons are eligible to vote.
Florida voters approved Amendment 4 in 2018, restoring voting rights for felons.
Hinkle wrote that his order affirms that the state of Florida can “condition voting on payment of fines and restitution that a person is able to pay but cannot condition voting on payment of amounts a person is unable to pay.”
