(TheRedWire.com) – A lawsuit was filed against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, state election officials, and members of DeSantis’ administration, alleging that the defendants had created a “climate of intimidation” that surrounded felons who are legally allowed to vote.
On Wednesday, a voting rights organization sued the DeSantis administration, claiming that they had purposefully neglected to follow the requirements of the Florida Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, passed in 2018, regarding the voting rights of felons.
In the lawsuit, they note that since the passing of Amendment 4, the defendants have deliberately and continuously created a “bureaucratic morass” that is blocking those with previous felony convictions from voting in the elections, despite being technically eligible to vote. As they point out, this is not a case of administrative failure as the records show that for years the Defendants have campaigned and made omissions that have blocked the rules that the Amendment was meant to protect.
According to the filing, last year, an “election police” unit was created that probed into election crimes, including illegal voting. The suit specifically targeted individuals and had their voting rights restored. This, along with other roadblocks placed on registration, has led to voting becoming a complicated process for those whose voting rights had once been removed and are now restored.
The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which had previously supported Amendment 4, has been one of the groups to file the lawsuit along with four individuals who claim to have been directly affected by the actions taken by the DeSantis administration to reduce their ability to vote.
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