Ron DeSantis’ First Voter Fraud Bust Is Quickly Imploding, Mark Joseph Stern, Slate, 8/29/22
. . . DeSantis’ misadventure traces back to Amendment 4, the ballot initiative that was supposed to restore voting rights to most people who had completed sentences for felony convictions. (Those convicted of murder and sex offenses were excluded.) Floridians overwhelmingly approved the constitutional amendment in 2018. Yet DeSantis and his fellow Republicans promptly sabotaged the amendment by enacting an unnavigable, incomprehensible system for individuals who wished to regain their right to vote. The state refused to establish a coherent process for people convicted of felonies to learn they are eligible to cast a ballot. Many Floridians with disqualifying convictions, including the defendants arrested this month, are therefore unaware that amendment 4 does not apply to them.
. . . But they [the 20 ex-felons who voted] did not reach this conclusion [about being able to vote] on their own. As Politico’s Matt Dixon has reported, these defendants were told by Florida officials that they were legally permitted to vote. And because they believed these officials, they now face up to five years in prison for the crime of voter fraud.
In affidavits and media interviews, defendants share the same tragic story: They filled out a voter registration card; their county election office approved it, telling them they could vote; they cast a ballot in 2020; and now they are charged with a felony offense. Because local election officials approved each registration, DeSantis’ spokespeople have sought to blame them for failing to uncover the disqualifying convictions. This accusation conveniently overlooks a crucial fact: Florida law tasks the state government with flagging felony convictions that bar a resident from registering to vote. It wasn’t local officials who dropped the ball. It was the DeSantis administration.
... The first round of defendants are charged with voting while ineligible, a third-degree felony in Florida. This law applies to any voter who casts a ballot “knowing he or she is not a qualified elector.” In other words, prosecutors must prove (to a jury, beyond a reasonable doubt) that the defendants knew their votes were illegal. Clearly, they had no such knowledge. Election officials told them they could vote, and provided them with all the tools to do so.
. . . Perhaps the governor won’t mind when the criminal case against these voters falls apart. His intention, after all, was to create a chilling effect on others’ rights, frightening eligible residents out of trying to vote.
More:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/ron-desantis-first-voter-fraud-bust-is-quickly-imploding/ar-AA11fhGV
I don't know if they are technically felons or ex-felons -- whatever, they have all completed their sentences. But certain felonies are not eligible to have their voting rights restored.
Edited to add: Florida is also one of the states that require that all court-ordered fees, fines, whatever be paid first ... and many states like this have a tendency to bury people in fees and fines so they never gain the right to vote, let alone being able to gain any footing financially, giving them no choice but to work in the gray market or worse
https://www.google.com/search?q=can%27t+vote+until+all+fees+and+fines+are+paid&oq=can%27t+vote+until+all+fees+and+fines+are+paid
Same link as above in case above doesn't work
