Free Republic

The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a request to block a Florida law requiring those who have been convicted of felonies and served their sentences to pay outstanding fines and fees owed in connection with their cases before voting. The court's order keeps the law in place heading into the state's primary election for non-presidential races, which is scheduled for Aug. 18 with a registration deadline of July 20. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Elena Kagan dissented with the majority's opinion. "This Court's order prevents thousands of otherwise eligible voters from participating in Florida's primary election simply because...

Thousands of convicted felons will be eligible to vote in Florida after a federal court ruled that a law that created wealth-based hurdles to voting is unconstitutional. The law, SB 7066, required people with past convictions to pay all outstanding legal fees, costs, fines and restitution before regaining their right to vote. The law undermined Floridians’ 2018 passage of Amendment 4, which restored voting rights to more than a million people who completed the terms of their sentence, including parole or probation. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle found that conditioning voting on payment of legal financial obligations a person is...

TALLAHASSEE — A Florida law requiring felons to pay legal fees as part of their sentences before regaining the vote is unconstitutional for those unable to pay, or unable to find out how much they owe, a federal judge ruled Sunday. The 125-page ruling was issued by U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle in Tallahassee. It involves a state law to implement a 2016 ballot measure approved by voters to automatically restore the right to vote for many felons who have completed their sentence. The Republican-led Legislature stipulated that fines and legal fees must be paid as part of the...

A federal civil rights trial wrapping up in Tallahassee may resolve the question of whether felons in Florida who have served their prison sentences – but can’t afford to pay court fines and fees – will be allowed to vote in the upcoming election.

California has made little progress in reducing the number of felons and mentally ill people who improperly own firearms even as state agents have confiscated thousands of weapons from prohibited owners, according to a new report from the state Department of Justice. The report was released at a time when Los Angeles County and other local jurisdictions have ordered gun stores closed over concerns about crowds of gun buyers gathering to stock up on firearms and ammunition during the shutdown over COVID-19. The FBI this week separately reported a 41% jump last month in background checks for people seeking to...

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear vowed during his inaugural address Tuesday to restore voting rights to more than 100,000 people convicted of felonies. "My faith teaches me to treat others with dignity and respect. My faith also teaches forgiveness," Beshear, a Democrat, said during his speech from the steps of the Kentucky capital in Frankfort. "That's why on Thursday, I will sign an executive order restoring voting rights to over 100,000 men and women who have done wrong in the past but are doing right now." "They deserve to participate in our great democracy," Beshear added. "By taking this step, by...

In his inaugural address, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said he will file an executive order this week restoring the voting rights of many convicted felons who are currently disenfranchised under state law. “My faith teaches me to treat others with dignity and respect,” the new Democratic governor told his audience outside the state Capitol. “My faith also teachers forgiveness.” “That’s why on Thursday I will sign an executive order restoring voting rights to over a hundred thousand men and women who have done wrong in the past but are doing right now. They deserve to participate in our great democracy,”...

Democrats used to argue that once felons had served their time, they had paid their debt to society and should be able to vote. Now, after Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) earlier this year argued for felons to vote while they are in prison, even for those who have committed the most horrible crimes, other Democrats have picked up the cause.

We’ve reported on states changing laws to allow felons to vote. Then you’ve got California releasing murderers because it “feels right” to give them another chance. Now, in another sign that the inmates are running the prison, the governor of California has approved “The Right to a Jury of Your Peers”. It’s a move that will allow people with a prior felony conviction to serve on juries in California for the first time. Prior to this, there was a law in California that excluded felons from jury service. Local media backed the legislation ... The state Assembly approved the legislation...

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Friday requiring ex-felons to pay court-ordered financial penalties to get their voting rights restored, a move that brought immediate legal action from activists seeking to stop the new law. The Legislature passed the bill this past spring in response to Amendment 4, which was approved by the voters in November to restore voting rights for ex-felons other than murderers and sex offenders. The amendment won 64.5% of the vote.

The state of California has made no secret that it wants to let as many people out of prison as possible. From the early release of inmates through AB 109, to filling parole boards with felon friendly commissioners, to decriminalizing a litany of felonies and drug offenses with Props 47 and 57, Sacramento lawmakers are bending over backwards to dramatically reduce the state’s inmate population. Despite all of these efforts, the number of inmates hasn’t dropped dramatically enough to satisfy the state’s ruling Democrats, so they’re kicking tires on a new approach — rigging the jury system so no one...

The state of California has made no secret that it wants to let as many people out of prison as possible. From the early release of inmates through AB 109, to filling parole boards with felon friendly commissioners, to decriminalizing a litany of felonies and drug offenses with Props 47 and 57, Sacramento lawmakers are bending over backwards to dramatically reduce the state’s inmate population. Despite all of these efforts, the number of inmates hasn’t dropped dramatically enough to satisfy the state’s ruling Democrats, so they’re kicking tires on a new approach — rigging the jury system so no one...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday pardoned seven former felons, including two Cambodian refugees the Trump administration wants to deport, in his first acts of clemency since the Democrat took office in January. Newsom adopted a policy of his predecessor, former Gov. Jerry Brown, to use his state constitutional authority to issue pardons to shield immigrants targeted by federal immigration officials.

Democrats used to argue that once felons had served their time, they had paid their debt to society and should be able to vote. Leading presidential candidate Bernie Sanders now wants felons to never lose their right to vote, not even for those who have committed the most horrible crimes, not even while they’re in prison.

Bernie Sanders reaffirmed his stance on prison voting in an op-ed published Monday by USA Today. The 2020 presidential hopeful and current Vermont senator has vocally supported not just allowing those with prior felony convictions to cast their ballot, but those who are currently incarcerated as well. "This should not devolve into a debate about whether certain people are 'good enough' to have the right to vote. Voting is not a privilege. It is a right," Sanders wrote. "In my view, the crooks on Wall Street who caused the great recession of 2008 that hurt millions of Americans are not...

Socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, vying for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, has said that many of his ideas from his failed 2016 campaign have now become “mainstream.” While some of his ideas have gained traction with some Americans, his latest policy proposal — allowing all felons to vote — is a no-go for an overwhelming majority of Americans.

Crazy Bernie wants Boston Marathon bomber to vote.

Progressive organizations, many financed by billionaire activist George Soros, are working overtime to restore voting rights for Florida’s nearly 1.4 million ex-felons as the nation’s biggest swing state seems poised to play a pivotal electoral role in the 2020 presidential race. The current battle revolves around a Florida state amendment that was passed last year restoring voting rights for felons, with progressive groups opposing a local bill that would require the state’s ex-felons to first pay civil fines and court fees before registering to vote. Florida’s Amendment Four was approved by voters during last year’s Midterm election. The heavily Soros-funded...

Sen. Bernie Sanders has long fought to restore voting rights for felons who’ve completed their prison sentences. Now the presidential candidate wants to go a big step further – arguing that those currently behind bars should be able to vote too. Asked on the campaign trail in Muscatine, Iowa on Saturday if those imprisoned should have the right to vote, the independent senator from Vermont who’s making his second straight bid for the Democratic nomination answered: "I think that is absolutely the direction we should go.” "In my state, what we do is separate. You’re paying a price, you committed...

Go look at the DeMoines Register website. Bernie is advocating to allow felons to vote. Most Democrats have little or no values and are criminally-minded, just like Trump has said. So, it makes sense.