SCOTUS Rules Against Felons In Florida Voting Case

USA Today reports:

The Supreme Court refused Thursday to let Florida felons who have completed their sentences vote in an upcoming primary without first paying fees, fines and restitution, as the state requires.

Voting rights groups had challenged the requirement as unconstitutional, given that state voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2018 giving hundreds of thousands of felons the right to vote. Now it will remain in effect while the case is heard next month by a federal appeals court.

The unsigned order was opposed by liberal Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan. Sotomayor said it “prevents thousands of otherwise eligible voters from participating in Florida’s primary election simply because they are poor.”

Supreme Court deals blow to felons in Florida seeking to regain the right to vote https://t.co/haV1UCmMLI

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) July 16, 2020

The Supreme Court refused Thursday to let Florida felons who have completed their sentences vote in an upcoming primary without first paying fees, fines and restitution, as the state requires.https://t.co/NL4IN5oL8t

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) July 16, 2020

In another turn in the Florida felons voting rights case, the Supreme Court denied a request to lift the 11th circuit’s stay, which blocks a lower court’s ruling allowing ex-felons to vote without paying fines & fees. pic.twitter.com/ezdTHniD5z

— Kendall Karson (@kendallkarson) July 16, 2020