19thnewsVerified account

1/ More than 700,000 formerly incarcerated Floridians owe money to the courts — and now, following a 6-4 decision by an appeals court, they will not be able to vote in the 2020 presidential election unless they pay off the fees. The latest from @keaux_:https://bit.ly/3bYH5jB 

2/ The case, which was the nation's sole felony disenfranchisement lawsuit citing a #19thAmendment violation, argued that a Florida law requiring formerly incarcerated people to pay court fees and fines constituted a poll tax.https://bit.ly/3bYH5jB 

3/ The backstory — In 2018, two-thirds of Floridians voted in favor of an amendment to restore voting rights to 1.5 million formerly incarcerated people. It was billed as the largest mass enfranchisement effort since the Voting Rights Act of 1965.https://bit.ly/3bYH5jB 

4/ The state legislature responded with Senate Bill 7066, which said that restitution, fines, and court costs must be paid before someone who'd served their prison time, including parole, could register to vote. The law has been in the courts ever since.https://bit.ly/3bYH5jB