Florida GOP Voter Suppression Effort Poised to Backfire Spectacularly

[Paratus]

Remember how Florida votes to allow ex-felons to vote after completing their sentences? Remember how the GOP lead Florida state government immediately tried to stop it by requiring all fines and fees to be paid before allowing ex-felons to regain the right to vote?

Turns out the bill they passed ha a reconciliation amendment that allows courts to waive fines and fees if they choose.

Heavily democratic counties have set up “rocket docket” courts to quickly waive fines and fees (except for victim restitution) for felons who’ve completed the rest of their sentences allowing them to regain the franchise

Republican counties are of course requiring all fines and fees to be paid disenfranchising their residents.

So it looks likely that GOP counties will prevent some democratic leaning felons from voting while also disenfranchising their own supporters. While democratic counties will allow many more democrat felons to vote.

In 2016, Trump beat Clinton by about 113,000 votes. Meanwhile, Miami-Dade hopes to grant about 150,000 former felons the right to vote. The reenfranchisement of hundreds of thousands of voters in primarily Democratic counties may very well swing the 2020 election.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics...ing-rights-amendment-4-counties-poll-tax.html

BWAHHHHH

 

[K1052]

lol whoops

 

[jana519]

No, no. See, equal rights is only important to 'Cons when it's beneficial to their interests. This is one of the core tenets of the conservative brand: selective principles.

Prediction: if there's any chance this will backfire on the GOP, soon the courts in those Republican counties will become very concerned about voting rights. It's quite simple, actually.

 

[ShookKnight]

I find it quite sad that conservatives have hijacked not only the principals of conservatism, but our entire country as well.

 

[fskimospy]

No, no. See, equal rights is only important to 'Cons when it's beneficial to their interests. This is one of the core tenets of the conservative brand: selective principles.

Prediction: if there's any chance this will backfire on the GOP, soon the courts in those Republican counties will become very concerned about voting rights. It's quite simple, actually.

Yes I suspect if this turns out to be accurate and significant you will find the conservatives running those counties suddenly become very interested in restoring voting rights to felons despite vehemently opposing the principle before.

Either that or the Florida legislature will try and close that provision.

 

[K1052]

Yes I suspect if this turns out to be accurate and significant you will find the conservatives running those counties suddenly become very interested in restoring voting rights to felons despite vehemently opposing the principle before.

Either that or the Florida legislature will try and close that provision.

I could see the FL leg trying to claw back this opening. They could still lose the entire issue in court because it really is a poll tax and all their bullshit maneuvering would be for nothing.

 

[DesiPower]

Interesting to know that there are enough convicted felons to make a difference, even more interesting to know that they all vote democrat! Live and Learn!!!

 

[Jhhnn]

Interesting to know that there are enough convicted felons to make a difference, even more interesting to know that they all vote democrat! Live and Learn!!!

Heh. The GOP sure seems to think they'll all vote Democrat, huh? Otherwise they'd have just embraced the Will of The People who voted overwhelmingly to reenfranchise felons. I want them all to vote, along with everybody else. I figure a 90% participation rate would crush the GOP.

 

[IronWing]

Meh, getting these folks to go through the hoops to vote is going to be a chore. Providing a path is one thing (a good thing, IMHO); getting people to walk it is another.

 

[Jhhnn]

Meh, getting these folks to go through the hoops to vote is going to be a chore. Providing a path is one thing (a good thing, IMHO); getting people to walk it is another.

Democratic counties are spreading the word, putting it out there & making it as easy as they can.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

Let’s be honest, most criminals are below average intelligence. From my personal observations most below average intelligence people I know vote R. Many are MAGA types.

 

[Vic]

Interesting to know that there are enough convicted felons to make a difference, even more interesting to know that they all vote democrat! Live and Learn!!!

The concern isn't so much about felons per se but a particular demographic of felons who have been disproportionally (and quite often unjustly) affected by the Republican party's War on Drugs.

 

[Greenman]

So the law was based on the idea that most felons are democrats, and none of the republicans noticed the waiver amendment, which the democrats are using to garner more democrat votes?

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Let’s be honest, most criminals are below average intelligence. From my personal observations most below average intelligence people I know vote R. Many are MAGA types.

Maybe, but they might also recognize which party gave them their voice back. That doesn't take a lot of smarts.

So the law was based on the idea that most felons are democrats, and none of the republicans noticed the waiver amendment, which the democrats are using to garner more democrat votes?

I suspect the law was based on the fact that they believed once a felon had paid their debt to society, they should be once again regarded as a citizen. Feel free to project politics on it if you'd like, but that doesn't make it accurate.

 

[fskimospy]

So the law was based on the idea that most felons are democrats, and none of the republicans noticed the waiver amendment, which the democrats are using to garner more democrat votes?

No, this law was related to a ballot initiative that overwhelmingly passed based on the idea that permanently barring someone from voting because they committed a crime made no sense.

Since Republicans believed that most felons were Democrats however, they decided to try and undermine the ballot initiative by placing additional roadblocks the voters didn't want in order to stop people from regaining the right to vote. In response to public outcry and complaints by the Democrats though, they put an exception into the law that allowed localities to speed up the re-enfranchisement of people. Because Republicans didn't think this all the way through Democratic controlled counties are re-enfranchising their voters at a higher rate than Republican counties.

Since the entire goal of this law was to (once again) suppress voting, it's ironic that this voter suppression effort appears to be suppressing their own voters. They would have been better off if they simply accepted that we live in a democracy and people should be able to vote, even if they won't vote for you. Then again that would require them to put country before party so... yeah don't hold your breath on that.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

They would have been better off if they simply accepted that we live in a democracy and people should be able to vote, even if they won't vote for you.

Unfortunately they do know that, they just know that it'll result in a higher turnout for Democrats and a lower turnout for Republicans, as is the case in virtually every voting bloc. Disenfranchisement is the only way the Republican party stays in power nowadays, since they've completely abandoned all principals they once had that aren't vile.

 

[fskimospy]

Unfortunately they do know that, they just know that it'll result in a higher turnout for Democrats and a lower turnout for Republicans, as is the case in virtually every voting bloc. Disenfranchisement is the only way the Republican party stays in power nowadays, since they've completely abandoned all principals they once had that aren't vile.

Yes there are many examples of this, and even of relatively high ranking state officials saying the quiet part loud. Simply that they think electing Republicans is better than electing Democrats so they are perfectly fine with rigging the system to make more Republicans win.

In a sane and well functioning democracy you win more elections by demonstrating the superiority of your governance/ideas/whatever. In our current democracy however one party has decided it is unable to do that, so the answer is instead preventing your opponents from voting or when they do vote, making sure their votes count less.

 

[thraashman]

Let’s be honest, most criminals are below average intelligence. From my personal observations most below average intelligence people I know vote R. Many are MAGA types.

I would say that most criminals are economically disadvantaged. Economic disadvantage tends to be tied hand in hand with educationally disadvantaged. Thanks to systemic racism minorities are more economically disadvantaged. Minorities tend to vote democrat what with the whole systemic racism thing being a core principle of conservatism.

 

[pmv]

Interesting to know that there are enough convicted felons to make a difference, even more interesting to know that they all vote democrat! Live and Learn!!!

Unlikely they _all_ vote Democrat. Given socio-economic facts its likely a majority of those who vote, vote Democrat, though. Am curious what proportion vote at all, because I bet a lot just don't vote even when they are allowed to.

Clearly, though, there are enough to make a difference, otherwise there'd never have been laws disenfranchising them in the first place. The elites don't really like democracy. It's interesting how it has evolved, though, depending on the structure of any given society, it seems like they want a certain amount of democracy (or the US would still have a monarch and we'd still have the system of Charles I) but not too much, lest affluent white people lose control.

 

[hal2kilo]

Interesting to know that there are enough convicted felons to make a difference, even more interesting to know that they all vote democrat! Live and Learn!!!

Some of the nuttiest alt-right shit comes right out of stir. Not sure what the GOP problem is. Surely, they aren't standing on principles?

US Prison Population By Race

White, Asian, and female Americans are far less likely to end up behind bars than men, Latinos, and African Americans.

www.worldatlas.com

 

[Paratus]

Interesting to know that there are enough convicted felons to make a difference, even more interesting to know that they all vote democrat! Live and Learn!!!

Heh. The GOP sure seems to think they'll all vote Democrat, huh? Otherwise they'd have just embraced the Will of The People who voted overwhelmingly to reenfranchise felons. I want them all to vote, along with everybody else. I figure a 90% participation rate would crush the GOP.

The concern isn't so much about felons per se but a particular demographic of felons who have been disproportionally (and quite often unjustly) affected by the Republican party's War on Drugs.

So the law was based on the idea that most felons are democrats, and none of the republicans noticed the waiver amendment, which the democrats are using to garner more democrat votes?

Unlikely they _all_ vote Democrat. Given socio-economic facts its likely a majority of those who vote, vote Democrat, though. Am curious what proportion vote at all, because I bet a lot just don't vote even when they are allowed to.

Clearly, though, there are enough to make a difference, otherwise there'd never have been laws disenfranchising them in the first place. The elites don't really like democracy. It's interesting how it has evolved, though, depending on the structure of any given society, it seems like they want a certain amount of democracy (or the US would still have a monarch and we'd still have the system of Charles I) but not too much, lest affluent white people lose control.

From the article:

A Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald analysisfound that 52 percent of Floridians who lost their voting rights because of a felony conviction were Democrats. A third were independents, while just 14 percent were Republicans. In recent years, black voters were five times more likely to lose their voting rights than white voters; Democrats were three times more likely to lose their voting rights than Republicans. Overall, the majority of former felons in the state are white.


Also around 46% of Florida’s prison population is African American.

 

[Jhhnn]

Unfortunately they do know that, they just know that it'll result in a higher turnout for Democrats and a lower turnout for Republicans, as is the case in virtually every voting bloc. Disenfranchisement is the only way the Republican party stays in power nowadays, since they've completely abandoned all principals they once had that aren't vile.

Discouragement & bothsiderism have the same effect.

 

[esquared]

This should get a reaction from the cheeto-barr to try to take it to the SC

U.S. court rules Florida cannot force felons to pay fees before voting

U.S. court rules Florida cannot force felons to pay fees before voting

A U.S. judge ruled on Sunday that the state of Florida cannot force felons to pay legal fines and other fees before allowing them to register to vote. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle found that a new state law amounts to an "unconstitutional pay-to-vote system" imposed on citizens

news.yahoo.com

"The ruling, for now, clears the way for potentially hundreds of thousands of citizens to register
to vote in the swing state for the November presidential election. "

 

[hal2kilo]

So the law was based on the idea that most felons are democrats, and none of the republicans noticed the waiver amendment, which the democrats are using to garner more democrat votes?

It's really about why the Republicans are fighting it so much. They seem to think at least it's an advantage to Democrats. I personally don't see it. At least not for the white felons. Half of them are probably radicalized white supremacists. Where do you think a lot of the crap comes from? Most probably, though is that the prisons are mostly populated by black people, cause reasons.

 

[Indus]

Don't you mean ex-felons?