JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Voting rights advocates in Florida are closely watching an ongoing case in federal appeals court that could determine the constitutionality of the state's requirement that released felons pay legal fees before being able to vote.
Since Florida voters passed Amendment 4 in 2018 by a nearly two-third margin, the state has implemented a requirement that any felons seeking the right to vote must pay off all fees related to their trial and incarceration.
"Those can range from hundreds of dollars, but once you start tacking on interest it can get up to thousands of dollars," said Nancy Abudu, Deputy Legal Director at the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
Along with the ACLU and other plaintiffs, the SPLC is suing the state of Florida for implementing what voting rights advocates have called a 'poll tax.'
Around 750,000 Floridians with felony convictions have legal financial obligations (LFOs) stemming from their time in the criminal justice system, Abudu said.
Those Floridians face an upcoming deadline of October 5 to register to vote in the November general election.
"By taking this issue directly to the voters, having almost 65 percent of them voting in favor of automatic restoration, that shows the government structure that we have is not being responsive to where our Floridians are on this issue," Abudu said.
The decision in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit will come on the heels of a decision by a federal judge in Tallahassee in May that declared the state's requirement unconstitutional.
Since the appeal court has expedited the trial, hearing oral arguments just last week, a decision could come within days or weeks.