Ruling Bars Restrictions on Felon Voters

A panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a District Court’s preliminary injunction to block enforcement of a Florida law that requires 17 ex-felons to fulfill the financial obligations of their sentences before they are allowed to vote.  The law was passed by the Florida Legislature last year to clarify a 2018 initiative constitutional amendment adopted by voters which gives felons the right to vote after they have competed “all the terms of their sentence including parole and probation.”  The legislative measure specified that fines and restitution are also among the terms of the sentence.  On January 16, the Florida Supreme Court issued an advisory opinion finding that fines and restitution are part of a criminal’s sentence, but did not address any federal constitutional issues.  In its Per Curiam opinion issued today the Circuit panel upheld the District Court injunction in a case where a group of 17 ex-felons have sued claiming that denying them the vote because they cannot afford to pay the fines and restitution required by their sentences, violates the 14th Amendment.  The panel determined that the plaintiffs had a “substantial likelihood of success on the merits” of this claim.  The injunction only allows the 17 ex-felons involved in the lawsuit to vote.  The state’s estimated 1.4 million felons who have not yet paid off their fines and restitution will be restricted from voting until the lawsuit is resolved.  The state intends to petition the Eleventh Circuit seeking en-banc review of the panel’s ruling.