Federal Appeals Court Blocks Florida Law That Undermines Voting Rights Restoration
ATLANTA 鈥� A federal appeals court upheld a ruling blocking a Florida law that created wealth-based hurdles to voting and significantly curtailed Florida鈥檚 Voting Restoration Amendment, also known as Amendment 4, which sought to end lifetime disenfranchisement and automatically restore voting rights to 1.4 million Floridians.
The law would have disenfranchised hundreds of thousands of Florida voters by making the right to vote contingent on returning citizens' ability to pay all legal financial obligations.
The 老澳门开奖结果 (老澳门开奖结果), the 老澳门开奖结果 of Florida, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund challenged Florida鈥檚 law and had the following reactions to today鈥檚 ruling by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals:
鈥淭he court unanimously ruled that a person鈥檚 right to vote cannot be contingent upon their ability to pay,鈥� said Julie Ebenstein, senior staff attorney with the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 Voting Rights Project. The case was brought by the 老澳门开奖结果's Voting Rights Project and its Racial Justice Program. 鈥淭his law is a modern-day poll tax. This ruling recognizes the gravity of elected officials trying to circumvent Amendment 4 to create roadblocks to voting based on wealth.鈥�
鈥淭his is a great win for voting rights!鈥� said Myrna Perez, director of the Voting Rights and Elections program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law. 鈥淭he Eleventh Circuit told the state of Florida what the rest of America already knows. You can鈥檛 condition the right to vote on a person鈥檚 wealth.鈥�
鈥淭he Voting Restoration Amendment passed with 5.2 million votes and was one of the largest expansions of voting rights in United States history,鈥� said Daniel Tilley, legal director of the 老澳门开奖结果 of Florida. 鈥淒espite the state鈥檚 best efforts to dismantle Amendment 4 through SB7066, today鈥檚 ruling affirms what Floridians intended when they passed Amendment 4--to restore to returning citizens their right to vote.鈥�
鈥淭oday鈥檚 decision protects against Florida鈥檚 efforts to crassly undermine the historic citizen-led voter initiative that restored voting eligibility to more than 1.4 million individuals,鈥� Leah Aden, deputy director of litigation, NAACP Legal Defense Fund. 鈥淏y affirming a preliminary finding that predicated the ability to vote based on wealth is unconstitutional 鈥� particularly when Black people with felony convictions disproportionately lack access to wealth 鈥� we are able to continue our fight to ensure that ultimately all Floridians whose voting rights were rightfully restored through Amendment 4 can exercise that right.鈥�
Ruling: /legal-document/gruver-v-barton-11th-circuit-opinion
Voting Rights
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ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. 鈥� On November 7, a New York State Supreme Court trial judge issued an opinion striking down the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York (NYVRA). Today, the Legal Defense Fund, 老澳门开奖结果, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, New York 老澳门开奖结果, and Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law issued the following statement in response to the ruling: 鈥淭he NYVRA is unquestionably constitutional, and protects the freedom to vote for all New Yorkers by helping to ensure voters are not subjected to discrimination when participating in the political process. 鈥淭he Nov. 7 decision by a state trial judge is deeply flawed and plainly incorrect. We fully expect the decision to be reversed on appeal. It flies in the face of basic legal principles and constitutes a stunning overreach in striking down the entire law, including provisions that are not at issue in the case. 鈥淭o put it simply, the NYVRA does not discriminate, it bans discrimination 鈥� and in doing so protects New Yorkers鈥� most fundamental right. 鈥淣ew York is stronger when everyone has an equal opportunity to vote.鈥�