Supreme Court upholds stay on Florida law restoring voting rights to felons

The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed Florida for now to bar felons who completed their prison sentence from voting in the upcoming primary without first paying fees, fines and restitution.

The justices refused to hear a challenge to the Florida law that critics call a “poll tax” for felons, keeping the restrictions in place for the time being.A trio of justices from the court’s liberal wing — Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor — opposed the unsigned order that rejected the case.

“Under this scheme, nearly a million otherwise-eligible citizens cannot vote unless they pay money,” wrote Justice Sotomayor, who called the policy a “voter paywall.”

A federal appeals court is scheduled to take up the issue next month, but that will be too late for the state’s Aug. 18 primary.

The case revolves around a state initiative known as Amendment 4 that restored voting rights to felons who had completed their sentence, a proposal that won more than 60% of the vote in 2018.

When writing the law, however, the legislature included the provision requiring felons to also pay “legal financial obligations” such as court-ordered fines and restitution before they can cast ballots.

Opponents argue that the costs often are beyond the means of many felons, meaning they effectively bar them from voting. The law does not distinguish between those who are making payments and those who have not paid at all.

Supporters of Amendment 4 filed suit against the law, which they said violates the spirit and letter of what voters approved.

The law will remain in effect until the state’s appeal is heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.Opponents of the state law hoped the Supreme Court would lift the stay and allow the felons to vote in the primary without meeting the financial obligations.

“We’re disappointed the stay remains in place as it will only contribute to confusion in the voting process in Florida,” said Julie Ebenstein, a senior attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Voting Rights Project that is involved in the litigation. “We are hopeful, however, that the district court’s ruling will eventually be upheld before the November election.”