Gov. DeSantis makes 'very, very unusual' request to appeal to voting rights decision

[sl8]

From https://m.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2020/06/11/florida-gov-ron-desantis-makes-very-very-unusual-request-to-appeal-to-voting-rights-decision

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis makes 'very, very unusual' request to appeal to voting rights decision

Dara Kam, News Service of Florida
Jun 11, 2020 0:18 AM

Arguing that the case is of “exceptional importance,” lawyers for Gov. Ron DeSantis have made a rare move of asking a full appellate court to consider a challenge to a voting-rights ruling that would pave the way for hundreds of thousands of felons to cast ballots in the November elections.

Appeals in federal lawsuits are almost always initially heard by three-judge panels, whose decisions can be revisited later by the full court in what are known as “en banc” hearings.

But the DeSantis administration last week asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for an initial hearing by the full court, due in part to a panel decision earlier in the case and because of the far-reaching nature of the lawsuit.

The request is “very, very unusual,” veteran elections-law attorney Mark Herron, who represents Leon County Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley in the lawsuit, told The News Service of Florida on Wednesday. Earley is one of the defendants.

[...]

[sop]

1. DeSantis is doggedly challenging the recently-restored rights of convicted felons to vote in 2020.

The people voted in favor of Florida Amendment 4, the Voting Rights Restoration for Felons Initiative, by 64% in 2018, restoring the voting rights of over one million Floridians. The ballot initiative required a supermajority of 60% support to pass.

Republicans in the state legislature immediately passed laws requiring convicted felons reimburse the state for all legal costs involved in their prosecutions before they could vote again, essentially creating a new poll tax. This February a federal judge called this scheme "unconstitutional."

Now DeSantis is again trying to disenfranchise over one million Florida voters. Republicans know Amendment 4 will affect all future elections in the swing state, known for very tight voting outcomes. It's just more Republican voter suppression.

[soothsayer]

2. They're shameless