Bloomberg raises millions to help Florida felons vote

[groundloop]

Source: ABC News

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Just days after after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis won a court victory to keep felons from voting until they've paid off fines, restitution and court fees, billionaire Mike Bloomberg has stepped in to help them pay off the debts.

The former Democratic presidential candidate has helped raise more than $20 million so that felons who completed their prison sentences can vote in the presidential election. Bloomberg also has pledged $100 million to help Joe Biden win Florida.

A federal appellate court ruled on Sept. 11 that in addition to serving their sentences, Florida felons must pay all fines, restitution and legal fees before they can regain their right to vote. The case could have broad implications for the November elections. Florida has 29 electoral college votes that are crucial to President Donald Trump’s hopes of staying in the White House.

<snip>

The Florida Rights Restitution Council had raised about $5 million before Bloomberg made calls to raise almost $17 million more, according to Bloomberg advisers, who weren't authorized to speak on the record because the announcement hadn't been made yet.

The money is targeted for felons who registered to vote while the law was in question and who owe $1,500 or less. That accounts for about 31,100 people, Bloomberg advisers say. In a state that decided the 2000 presidential election by 537 votes, that could be critical in a year when polls show Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden in a dead heat.

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/bloomberg-raises-millions-florida-felons-vote-73163026?cid=clicksource_4380645_1_heads_hero_live_headlines_hed

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Remember that in 2018 Florida voters passed overwhelmingly agreed that felons who have completed their sentences would have voting rights restored. Then, Republican lawmakers redefined what it meant to complete a sentence to include financial restitution and payment of fines.

[durablend]

1. Cue the right

"LIBS HELPING DANGEROUS THUGS TO VOTE!!!!"

[Iliyah]

2. Cue to the right . .

losing the Cuban community will suck . .

[padah513]

3. A Florida win would really be sweet

Hard for trump to make a case that the election was rigged if he loses there. He'll say it anyway, but still.

[beachbumbob]

4. can't pay fines/fees if the fines/fees aren;t established and released,

[FM123]

5. Yes!

See, all of my open letters to Bloomberg asking him to do this worked! Yay!
(Okay, I don't know if he read any of my posts here on DU, lol, but I am so glad that he did it anyway).

1,686,318 total Floridians are disenfranchised.
Florida has the most disenfranchised citizens in the United States.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felon_disenfranchisement_in_Florida#:~:text=According%20to%20ProCon.org%3A,1%2C686%2C318%20total%20Floridians%20are%20disenfranchised.

[disndat]

12. I read your DU suggestion to Bloomberg

to pay off felons debts. I thought it was an inspired idea. I am inclined to think one of Bloomberg's aid
is a DUer and passed on the idea to him.

[FM123]

13. Oh, you are too kind!

I imagine that folks a lot more influential than I were the ones who suggested it to him. But I will secretly tell myself that it was ME

[disndat]

14. I can tell by the quality of DUers

this site reaches out to people on the high level.

[JudyM]

6. This is great, but it would be better in this closely divided state if they didn't pay off rethug

ex-con debts. All well and good to be even-handed in this, but civil rights are more broadly at stake in this election, and critically so, so IMO we should concentrate on paying the fees of known Dems instead of using a dollar value as the only criteria.

[Gothmog]

7. This is a great way to fight the GOP poll tax

Link to tweet

[Thekaspervote]

8. Thank you M Bloomberg! I donated about a week ago. They had paid off 320k of fines then

[idziak4ever1234]

9. Is there enough time to get them registered...

Or will they take the money and not register?

[JohnnyRingo]

10. DeSantis should be thrilled with this.

After all, that's an influx of funding to the state, presumably the reason DeSantis created the voting hurdle.

He should be the first one ousted out by these newly enfranchised voters

[CaptainTruth]

11. The original measure was poorly written, it didn't specify what "completed sentence" means.

If the measure had specified, for example, jail time & parole, EXCLUDING fines & court costs, this could have been avoided.

One problem is that convicted felons often end up owing fees that are NOT part of the sentence, but Rethugs want to say they're part of "completing the sentence."

[tavernier]

15. Bloomberg can just say that he's helping out some friends.

Trump helps out HIS friends... only difference is that they are felons who haven’t done their time.