FL Amend. 4 was supposed to re-enfranchise 1.4 million people w/ felony convictions. @tampabaytimes @propublica research shows only 31,400 Floridians w/ felony convictions have registered.

"it might be America’s biggest case of voter disenfranchisement."

tampabay.com/news/florida-p…
h/t @rickhasen and his indispensable Election Law Blog.
Notably, the story says that 31,400 is only people who served time in prison and have been released. So the number of new registrants is surely higher. But still, only "8 percent of FL's felons have registered to vote since Amendment 4 passed."
Also, many of them still might owe fines and fees (the state doesn't even have an accurate way to tell!), so they could be risking a new felony if they vote!

Talk about a poll tax and further voter suppression!

Of course, the harms hit minority voters the most
This vital reporting from @tampabaytimes and @propublica is really good--and it makes me furious.

Amendment 4 was supposed to open the doors of democracy to so many people. But the FL legislature and the courts have allowed it to serve as a further tool of voter suppression.
Note that the conservative-majority 11th Circuit upheld the FL legislature's gutting of Amendment 4, even though a district judge found that the law requiring people with felonies to pay back all fines and fees is a modern day poll tax.
We are truly seeing the fruits of McConnell's court packing strategy.

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More from @JoshuaADouglas

13 Oct
BREAKING: 5th Cir. upholds Texas having only one ballot drop box per county.

Implausibly, the court finds that the Tex. Gov's decision *expands* the right to vote instead of *restricts* it.

Up is down.

Here is the opinion: ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/2…
Pay attention to this footnote. It's a continued attack on the ability of the U.S. Constitution to vigorously protect the right to vote, suggesting that laws that direct the voting process aren't actually about the "right to vote."
It is just so disingenuous for the court to argue that the Texas Gov's Oct 1 order, which explicitly forbid counties to use more than one drop box after several counties announced they would do so, actually "expands" the right to vote.
Read 9 tweets
12 Oct
It's time for the #KYSen debate between @AmyMcGrathKY and @LeaderMcConnell. Follow along, friends, and I'll give you the highlights. It's go time! 1/
McGrath: Hits McConnell right away for knowing about #COVID19 as early as January but not warning Kentuckians about the threat. 2/
McConnell: starts by congratulating McGrath on her military service.

Now we'll wait for McGrath to mention how she wrote to McConnell as a kid about how she wanted to be a fighter pilot and he never responded. It won't take long, I'm sure. 3/
Read 38 tweets
12 Oct
I agree that this is Groundhog Day--another day, another court deferring to the state legislature and state election officials on the voting process.
The court here basically says that voters will probably suffer an infringement of the constitutional right to vote, but that the judge's hands are tied because of SCOTUS and 11th Circuit's insistence on the Purcell Principle not to change rules too close to an election.
Notice how apologetic district judge is here. Court says Plaintiffs had very strong evidence that the voting machines will infringe the right to vote, but that it must reject the claim cause of appellate precedent.

It's the Purcell Principle and undue deference on steroids.
Read 4 tweets
14 Aug
BREAKING: @KYSecState delivered recommendations for running Nov election in Kentucky. It’s VERY good news. Let’s walk through the provisions. But here’s the bottom line: anyone who believes they need to vote by mail cause of #COVID may do so. 1/
KY will essentially run election in 3 stages. First is vote-by-mail. Online portal to request a mail-in ballot will open on Aug. 21. Voters will have until Oct. 9 to request a ballot. Though an “excuse” is needed, any voter can say they want to vote by mail cause of #COVID. 2/
Both sides should claim victory: technically an excuse is required, but every voter has a valid excuse if they believe that voting in person will subject them to an unreasonable risk of harm from the coronavirus. 3/
Read 30 tweets
23 Jun
THREAD: What's takeaway from #KYPrimary?
-KY's voting rules were less restrictive than ever and turnout was high. That doesn't excuse problems, but let's at least recognize that fact.

We absolutely need no excuse absentee voting and early voting for Nov. 1/
-Lines were short almost everywhere except Lexington, where wait was 2 hours at longest. That's unacceptable, but better than projections
-Louisville's polling place went very well until the very end. 2/
-Problem in Louisville was really the 6:00 closing time and traffic back-up, not capacity to process voters
-We still need additional polling places, esp in Lexington and Louisville. I'm very concerned about the effect of disenfranchisement for those who couldn't travel far 3/
Read 9 tweets
23 Jun
KENTUCKY PRIMARY DAY THREAD: Follow along, friends, as we document today’s in-person voting. And if you’re in line to vote, send me a pic and I’ll add it.

1. First up, the pre-opening line in Lex:
2. An hour in and they are still handling the initial rush from people who joined the line before polls opened. The real test is the wait in an hour or so when the backlog is cleared.
Read 71 tweets

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