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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Did the state government limit the impact of Florida's 2018 ballot initiative restoring voting rights to felons?

By Maxwell Craig
YES

Florida voters in 2018 approved restoration of voting rights to all felons, except those convicted of murder or a felony sexual offense, upon completion of their prison sentences. Legislators the following year then passed a law requiring that before registering to vote, felons had to pay all fines, fees, and costs related to their convictions.

Backers of the 2018 vote lost their challenge to the law in a 6-4 ruling issued on Sept. 11 by a U.S. Appeals Court. The Supreme Court had previously declined to intervene in their case. The decision leaves hundreds of thousands of people who can't establish what they owe, or can't afford the amounts due, unable to vote, limiting the impact of a measure originally intended to add up to 1.4 million to the ranks of the state's eligible voters. Nearly 14 million people were registered to vote in the state as of July.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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