The NAACP Board of Directors issued a formal travel advisory Sunday for the state of Florida over a series of laws recently signed by Governor Ron DeSantis that the organization says “ to erase Black history and to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in Florida schools.” The travel advisory reads: Please be advised that [...]
Search Results for: florida felons rights -ballot
UN rights expert says US voting measures undermine democracy
UN human rights expert Fernand de Varennes Monday said that electoral laws in some parts of the US, including Texas, may undermine democracy by depriving millions of citizens who belong to minority groups of the equal right to vote. Varennes stated this during a news conference on his final day of a two-week visit to [...]
North Carolina appeals court temporarily enjoins order expanding felon voting rights
The North Carolina Court of Appeals on Friday blocked a lower court order that would restore voting rights to more than 55,000 North Carolinians on parole or probation for a felony. In 2019, several nonprofit groups, including the Community Success Initiative (CSI), challenged the North Carolina law that barred convicted felons from voting until their [...]
US Capitol police officers file federal suit against Trump and far right groups over Jan 6 riots
Seven US Capitol police officers (“the plaintiffs”) filed a complaint in federal court on Thursday against former president Donald Trump and one of his corporations, Stop the Steal LLC, domestic and international Proud Boys groups, and other far right extremist groups (“the defendants”) for allegedly causing injuries to more than 140 police officers on January 6. [...]
Federal appeals court denies Florida felons owing fines the right to vote
In a 6-4 decision on Friday, the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled that felons in the state of Florida cannot have their voting rights restored until they pay all restitution, fines and fees. Chief Judge William Pryor, writing for the majority, first noted the “historic amendment” that Florida voters passed in [...]
Supreme Court declines to assist Florida in restoring convicted felons' right to vote
The Supreme Court has declined to block a Florida law that prevents convicted felons from voting. Justices Sotomayor, Ginsburg and Kagan all dissented from the majority’s denial of application to vacate stay. The dissent explained: This Court’s order prevents thousands of otherwise eligible voters from participating in Florida’s primary election simply because they are poor. [...]
Federal judge rules Florida felon pay-to-vote law unconstitutional
A federal judge ruled Sunday that Florida’s pay-to-vote law is unconstitutional when applied to ex-felons who are eligible to vote but genuinely unable to pay. Historically, under Florida law, convicted felons may be disenfranchised from voting. Recently, however, Amendment 4 was passed to restore the voting rights of felons, except those convicted of murder or [...]
The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld its own decision Tuesday to allow Florida ex-convicts to vote despite lingering financial and legal obligations. The court refused to reconsider en banc its original decision, effectively cementing its earlier decision on the case. In February, the court issued its original opinion on this case [...]
Federal appeals court rules Florida cannot disenfranchise felons for failing to pay fines
The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled Wednesday that Florida cannot bar felons from registering to vote for failing to pay all fines and fees associated with their cases. In 2018 Florida voters approved Amendment 4, which would automatically restore voting rights to ex-felons who had completed all the terms of their [...]
Destroy Everything Segregated – The Life Work of Fred D. Gray, Sr.
Martin Luther King Jr. called Fred Gray the chief counsel of the Civil Rights movement. Gray was born in Alabama in 1930. Born and raised in the segregated South, he understood the full impact of segregation on black communities and experienced it personally. Gray attended a Christian boarding school in Nashville, Tennessee, because, at the [...]