Florida CAN bar ex-felons from voting if they owe court payments, appeals court rules. [View all]

*Mike Bloomberg, where are you? Please help pay off some of these fines so they can vote.....

(CNN) Florida can bar ex-felons from voting if they owe court fines or fees associated with their convictions, even if they are unable to pay, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

The 6-4 ruling by the full 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a lower court's ruling blocking the law.

The law, Chief Judge William Pryor wrote in the majority opinion, doesn't constitute a poll tax. Instead, "it promotes full rehabilitation of returning citizens and ensures full satisfaction of the punishment imposed for the crimes by which felons forfeited the right to vote."

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Paul Smith, vice president at the Campaign Legal Center, called Friday's decision "deeply disappointing."

"While the full rights restoration envisioned by Amendment 4 has become less likely to be realized this fall, we will continue this fight for all Florida voters, so the full benefits of Amendment 4 will someday be realized," Smith said in a statement, adding that "nobody should ever be denied their constitutional rights because they can't afford to pay fines and fees."

Read More: https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/11/politics/florida-ex-felons-voting/index.html