(Washington, D.C.) – The U.S. Supreme Court voted not to weigh in on whether Florida’s citizens must pay court fees before regaining their right to vote today. The court chose not to overturn a lower court’s decision to keep hundreds of thousands from joining the state’s voter rolls.
The following is a statement from Kristen Clarke, counsel and senior fellow at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law:
“The Supreme Court’s inaction places the voting rights of thousands of otherwise eligible voters in jeopardy on the eve of an upcoming August primary election. The court should have lifted the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal’s stay to allow Floridians, many of whom are disproportionately low-income people of color, the opportunity to register to vote by the upcoming July 20th deadline. At every turn this election season, we are seeing the Supreme Court place its thumb on the scale in favor of voter suppression. In cases arising from Wisconsin, Texas and now Florida, the court had the opportunity to take action that would have made it easier for voters to participate in the 2020 election season but they consistently chose not to.”
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