ORLANDO, Fla. - Advocates who successfully campaigned for a referendum restoring voting rights to Florida’s felons have launched a fund to help pay outstanding fees and fines that could prevent former convicts from voting. Leaders of a voting rights group, the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, said at a news conference Tuesday that it hopes to raise $3 million through fundraising. An estimated 1.4 million felons were given the chance to vote after a ballot measure, Amendment 4, passed last November. Of that number, about half a million have unpaid fees or fines that could prevent them from registering under legislation signed into law last week by Republican Gov. The American Civil Liberties Union and other groups that have supported the restoration of voting rights for felons filed a federal lawsuit Friday challenging the new state law.

Source: thestar July 02, 2019 18:12 UTC