Florida’s Disenfranchisement of Ex-Offenders Shows Criminal Restitution Must Be Reformed

All eyes were on Florida after the passage of Amendment 4 in 2018, whereby voters passed a constitutional amendment seeking to restore voting rights to former felons who had completed “all terms of [their] sentence.” In an act that many saw as subverting the will of the people, the Florida Legislature convened shortly thereafter and passed an implementing bill that interpreted “all terms” of a criminal sentence to encompass the payment of any fees, fines, or criminal restitution orders. Thus, in Florida, ex-felons who have served their sentences are still prohibited from voting if criminal restitution debt related to their offense is outstanding. This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review website on February 15, 2021. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above