(Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services)
PART THREE, THE LAST PART. *PUT THIS ON YOUR CHECK DESCRIPTION IF YOU SEND A CHECK SO THAT A RETURNING CITIZEN CAN VOTE. I DID.
In this series, we have already explored how Amendment 4 to the Florida Constitution came to be approved by two-thirds of Florida voters, was seized by the Florida Legislature after Amendment 4 passed overwhelmingly at the polls, and then was also twisted beyond recognition by 6 federal judges who ignored the votes of millions of people in Florida and incredibly ruled that a poll tax is not a poll tax.
The end result leave us and returning citizens with a choice: Pay the poll tax or they won't be able to vote. We did not choose this; the Florida Legislature and 6 federal judges chose this for us.
Although the Florida Legislature imposed a poll tax, Florida won't tell Florida voters how much they have to pay before they will be allowed to vote. These people who want to vote all served their entire sentence including restitution if ordered to any victim of any crime. People with felony convictions of violent crimes including sex crimes are not permitted to register to vote by Amendment 4 in the first place. Despite all that, the Florida Legislature added a poll tax and won't tell people who served their terms how much they must pay before they will be allowed to vote.
We do know, however, that this is a unique way to fund Florida's court system (because apparently the Florida Legislature will not fund it). From reporting in The New York Times it looks like Florida may be the only State in the nation in which the requirement is imposed on voters to pay court fees before they will be allowed to vote.
Now you also know something about this that not The New York Times and not any other media outlet anywhere has reported so far as I know. No other State in this country refuses to say how much returning citizens have to pay in court fees before the State will allow them to vote. Only Florida does that.
But if the people don't pay Florida's court costs, they cannot vote. This is not "Catch 22" because that was fiction and this is not. Call it "Catch 2020."
The only option I can see is to pay the poll tax. For us to pay the poll tax. That is the only option the people currently in power have left us. I for one refuse to let them succeed in this game they have chosen to play.
You too may want to explore making a donation to pay the court costs imposed on returning citizens in Florida. If you want to explore making a donation to ease this burden, check out the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition at www.floridarrc.com. Their deadline to accept contributions is September 24.
And if you donate by check, don't forget to write in the description of your check what it's for: So that a returning citizen can vote.
Please read the disclaimer. ©2020 Dennis J. Wall. All rights reserved.
Comments