Florida group files federal lawsuit against DeSantis and other state officials over voting rights of prior felons
Jose Irby poses for a portrait during an event held by the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition to clear the fines and fees of dozens of Florida residents with past felony convictions
By Rebekah Riess and Shania Shelton, CNN
(CNN) — The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, a voting rights group, and several Florida citizens this week filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials, alleging they created “a bureaucratic system around the implementation of Amendment 4,” preventing Florida citizens with prior felony convictions from voting.
“Ever since the people of Florida passed a constitutional amendment to grant people with felony convictions a new right to vote, the Governor and the state have done everything in their power to prevent those 1.4 million new voters from actually voting,” Carey Dunne, founding principle of the Free and Fair Litigation Group, said in a statement from FRRC.
According to the lawsuit, a potential voter’s eligibility in the state is “often determined by local practices that vary depending on the county in which they live. The result is confusion and uncertainty that deters them from registering to vote.”
Additionally, the lawsuit – which was filed in in the US District Court Southern District of Florida – accuses DeSantis, Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass of mounting “an aggressive campaign” to arrest people with prior felony convictions for having voted in the 2020 election.
“Through this campaign, the Defendants have created a climate of intimidation even among people who believe in good faith that they are eligible to vote,” the lawsuit says.
Florida voters approved Amendment 4 in 2018. It allows convicted felons who complete all terms of their sentences, including parole or probation, the right to vote, except those convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense.
Soon after the referendum was passed, Republicans and DeSantis said the law was unclear as to how it should be implemented and what constitutes the completion of a sentence.
In 2019, DeSantis, in his first year as governor, signed a controversial law which clarified terms of sentence to include legal financial obligations such as fines, fees and restitution. A number of groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, argued that the law discriminated based on wealth and was thus unconstitutional.
A federal judge ruled in 2020 that the state law amounted to an unconstitutional “pay-to-vote system,” but a few months later, a federal appeals court overturned that decision.
CNN has reached out to DeSantis’ office for comment.
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