Case Undercuts Fee-Based Hurdles To Restored Voting Rights

A government can’t block people from voting just because they are too poor to pay a fine. According to Danielle Lang, co-director of voting rights at the Campaign Legal Center and counsel to the plaintiffs in the Florida suit, Judge Hinkle’s ruling was the first to ever directly address whether states could link voting rights restoration to the payment of both punitive and operational fines and fees. “It’s a very important signal, as states continue to liberalize their rights restoration laws, to keep in mind that even as they’re moving forward, they need to do it in a way that’s going to be fair to the poor and rich alike,” she said.

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