Florida voters approved Amendment in . 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. The lawsuit 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 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. The lawsuit was filed in in the US District Court Southern District of Florida and is being handled by the Free and Fair Litigation Group, a voting rights group and several Florida citizens this week filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Ron deSantis and other state officials. The group claims the state has created a bureaucratic system around the implementation of Amendment preventing Florida citizens withPrior felony convictions from voting. The result is confusion and uncertainty that deters them from registering to vote, according to the lawsuit. It was filed by the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, a Voting Rights Group and other Florida citizens. The suit was filed on behalf of several citizens who live in the state and are concerned that the state is not doing enough to protect the rights of those who have been convicted of felonies to vote. It is seeking $1 million in damages and is expected to be heard by a federal judge in the next few days and could be settled on a trial date later this year. It has not yet been decided whether or not the lawsuit will be able to go to trial or if the case will be settled in state or federal court. The case is currently before the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Tallahassee, Florida and the trial is set to begin in the coming weeks. It will be the first time the case has been heard in federal court since a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the American Civil Liberties Union in 2012. The ACLU argued that the law discriminated based on wealth and was thus unconstitutional. A federal judge ruled in that theState law amounted to an unconstitutional paytovote system but a few months later a federal Appeals court overturned that decision. The state has since changed the law to clarify terms of sentence to include legal financial obligations such as fines fees and restitution. The law was unclear as to how it should be implemented and what constitutes the completion of a sentence. Republicans and DeSantis said the law was unsure as to what constitutes a sentence and how it was to be implemented. The governor signed the law in his first year as governor and said it was unclear how to implement the law. A number of groups including the American civil Liberties Union argued the state law was unconstitutional. The American Civil Rights Union argued that it was unconstitutional because it discriminated against people who were poor and had no means of paying fines or restitution for crimes such as murder or sexual offenses. The judge ruled the law is not unconstitutional and that it does not apply to people who have served time.
Florida group files federal lawsuit against DeSantis and other state officials over voting rights of prior felons. Florida group filed federal lawsuit.
