This is when having a “conservative majority” (that actually includes Roberts) matters big time.
In a huge victory for Trump, SCOTUS just ruled that a whopping one million Florida felons cannot vote in the upcoming 2o2o election…this is huge because Dems were counting on those votes….big time.
The high court said that Florida felons who have served their time and paid their debt to society but have not paid off all of their fines, or restitution cannot vote.
Dems are devastated because this will have far-reaching ramifications in all of the places they’re trying to get felons to vote.
Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine, and an election law expert, said the Supreme Court’s inaction could have major implications for both Florida’s upcoming August primary vote as well as the November general election.
“This case is perhaps the most consequential when it comes to election outcomes,” he wrote on the Election Law Blog. “Florida is a perennial swing state and the number of voters affected by this ruling is significant.”
The Supreme Court on Thursday let stand a lower court ruling that could strip voting eligibility from up to 1 million Florida felons who have completed their sentences but have yet to pay outstanding fines, restitution and other fees.
In an unsigned opinion, the conservative-majority court declined to revisit a federal appeals court ruling that permits Florida to stop felons with outstanding court-imposed debt from registering to vote as a July 20 primary election registration deadline approaches.
Three of the court’s more liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan, dissented.
“Under this scheme, nearly a million otherwise-eligible citizens cannot vote unless they pay money,” wrote Sotomayor, who called the policy a “voter paywall.”
The dispute concerns a 2018 amendment to Florida’s constitution that restored voting rights to those with felony convictions who had completed “all terms” of their sentences.
The state’s legislature and highest court treat the amendment as requiring payment of all court-imposed costs before voting eligibility is restored, which sparked court challenges.
This is very good news for us because this is how Dems plan to win, by changing the rules and cheating.
They just lost this round, but they won’t give up, because this is the only hope they’ve got.
This piece was written by Missy Crane on July 16, 2020. It originally appeared in WayneDupree.com and is used by permission.
The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Steve Gruber.
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