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An estimated 775,000 felons who can’t afford to pay fines, fees and restitution tied to their sentence will likely not be able to vote in November.

A federal appeals court ruled the state is allowed to require the payment for voting rights restoration and time is running out if plaintiffs hope to reverse the ruling.

Reversing a lower court decision, the appeals court argued Florida had the right to require felons to complete all terms of their sentence, including fines, fees and restitution in order to vote.

“If a State may decide that those who commit serious crimes are presumptively unfit for the franchise, id., it may also conclude that those who have completed their sentences are the best candidates for reenfranchisement,” wrote US Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Justice William Pryor in the ruling.

The ruling all but guarantees felons who have outstanding legal financial obligations will not be able to vote in November.

An appeal to the US Supreme Court would have to be ruled on before the October 5th registration deadline.

“It’s deeply disappointing and quite frankly, appalling. Because what they essentially said is, it’s okay to make people pay to vote,” said Patricia Brigham, President of the League of Women Voters of Florida. “It’s really a devastating decision for our returning citizens.”

775,000 felons in the state are estimated to be too poor to pay their legal financial obligations.

“This is going to have serious ramifications when we talk about the growing class divide,” said Southern Poverty Law Center Attorney Nancy Abudu, who is representing one of the 17 plaintiffs named in the case.

Abudu believes the ruling will have significant consequences for the November election.

“Whatever the outcome of our election, we’ll know that a significant portion of Florida’s electorate was excluded,” said Abudu.

At the time of the appellate hearing, 85,000 felons had already registered to vote.

Under the ruling, the state can potentially remove any of those voters from the roles, if they have not paid all of their legal financial obligations.

“As far as we can determine, unless those individuals hear anything from the state and as long as they feel confident about their eligibility, they should not face any obstacles,” said Abudu.

Groups involved in the suit told us they’re still determining how to move forward, but hope to make a decision sometime in the next week.

The Governor’s communications director Fred Piccolo provided us this statement regarding the ruling:

“The 11th Circuit decision affirmed what we all – proponents and opponents of Amendment 4 – agreed on during initial oral arguments in front of the Florida Supreme Court. Namely that all terms of a sentence means all terms. There are multiple avenues to restore rights, pay off debts, and seek financial forgiveness from ones victims. Second chances and the rule of law are not mutually exclusive.”

Florida is set to mail 2 million postcards reminding Floridian’s who are not registered to vote, but are eligible to get on the voting rolls.

The League of Women Voters worries the move is too little too late.

The state originally said the postcards would go out in mid-summer, but with the registration deadline rapidly approaching, the League fears the reminders won’t arrive in time.

“And also because the postal service is slow, we hope that they hit the mailboxes by tomorrow, but we encourage Floridians who are not registered who receive these postcards or who don’t receive them if you’re not registered, to register to vote. You don’t have much time left. October the 5th is right around the corner,” said Patricia Brigham, President of the League of Women Voters of Florida.

You can register to vote online by going to the Florida Division of Election’s website or in person at your local supervisor of elections office.

FSU President John Thrasher said more than 900 students and 16 employees at the university have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Friday morning.

The President said the spike was expected and most cases trace back to off campus activities.

Of the 902 student infections reported by FSU, eight out of ten are students living off campus.

Bethany Bartelli is one of those students.

“It was not great,” said Bartelli.

She’s happy with the university’s pandemic response, noting she was infected during a game night with a small group of friends.

“There’s no right option. There’s only a best option and it feels like this is it,” said Bartelli.

University President John Thrasher said in person learning will continue, pointing to some silver linings in the case data.

“We’ve not had any faculty member we know that’s gotten the disease from any student who has attended a face to face class. As I said earlier, no faculty member, no student has been hospitalized,” said Thrasher. “Now we hope to lower the numbers, no doubt about it, but we meet every day just about with somebody from the Surgeon General’s Office, somebody from the SUS, our own medical advisory committee is involved. So I’m going to look at all of that kind of information before I would actually take that next step.”

And while students we’ve spoken with feel the university is doing a good job keeping them safe, their larger concern is for staff and the outlying community.

Bartelli said the Saturday home football game, expected to draw 19,000 students and fans, raises some concerns.

“Revenue that that brings in is important not just for the university, but the community. So is the larger wellbeing of public health,” said Bartelli.

Thrasher told us the game will go on, and is hopeful it will be a success.

“A lot of people have been looking forward to something that at least comes back to some normalcy, but we’re going to do it in a safe way,” said Thrasher.

And Thrasher said despite recent cases, he believes students are beginning to understand the seriousness of the virus.

Thrasher noted the university is taking steps to discipline students who behave recklessly amid the pandemic, but said the university’s primary strategy is education over punishment.

A unanimous Florida Supreme Court is ordering the Governor to name a new Supreme Court Justice by noon Monday.

The order comes after the court found he improperly named a justice who was constitutionally unqualified and the ensuing legal battle has been full of irony.

Throughout his campaign and once in office, Ron DeSantis railed against activist judges.

“I will only appoint judges who understand that the proper role of the court is to apply the constitution as written,” said DeSantis in January of 2019.

In July, the Governor said he was elevating Circuit Judge Renatha Francis to the state’s high court.

But there were two problems.

The constitutional deadline for making the appointment was March 23rd.

Second, on that day, Judge Francis was constitutionally ineligible because she had not been a member of the bar for 10 years.

She remains ineligible even now.

Another irony is that it was a black legislator who had pushed for an African Americans on the court, which has none, who filed the successful challenge to the only African American on the nominating list.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried calls that a problem.

“So we need to start reexamining the judicial nominating committee and making sure that we have people sitting on these committees, to begin with, that are more diverse,” said Fried.

Friday afternoon Democratic State Senator Perry Thurston called for the resignation of the nine member Judicial Nominating Commission that improperly nominated Judge Francis for the high court.

Geraldine Thompson, who brought the challenge, said the Governor got what he wanted.

Justices who followed the law and the constitution.

“The Governor says he is a textualist and he wants strict constructionism. Well, that’s what the Florida Supreme Court gave him with this case. Strict constructuralist,” said Thompson.

The Governor must now make an appointment from the remaining seven names on the list he was given in January.

Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried is implementing policing reforms for law enforcement working within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The new policies include prohibiting choke holds, emphasizing deescalation tactics and requiring officers to report instances of excessive force.

“Like so many of us, we saw the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and so many other Black Americans across our country. And of course the Governor was silent on all of these issues and we saw nothing from his administration,” said Fried. “And so we sat back and tried to figure out what is something that we can do inside of the Department of Agriculture. How do we step up and how do we be leaders?”

Fried also added gender identity as a protected class for OPS employees and created new social media guidelines for department employees, banning racist and discriminatory content.

Florida State University will soon begin its search for a new University President.

Current President John Thrasher still has more than a year left in his contract, but because the university anticipates a presidential search may take longer to conduct amid the pandemic it wants to begin as soon as possible.

Thrasher said he will continue to serve until a new President is selected.

We asked what he hopes to see in a successor.

“You know I want somebody who feels the passion for this university that I feel. And I’m not saying I have the most passion, but you’ve gotta have that. You’ve got to have that fire in the belly every day you get up, to want to come into this university and make it a better place. And I guess if I’ve done anything, I feel like we’ve left it in a little better place than we were and I hope the next person comes in and does the same thing,” said Thrasher.

Thrasher has served as FSU President since 2014.

He also served eight years in the Florida House, two years as House Speaker, and two years in the Florida Senate.

A soon to be published book by author Bob Woodward named St. Lucie as the second county supposedly hacked in 2016.

Washington County in the Panhandle was previously identified.

Elections supervisors now say the 2016 allegations contain a silver lining.

The soon to be published ‘Rage’ is re-igniting concerns over election security in Florida.

In May 2019, Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed that two counties had been penetrated in 2016 but said he was sworn to secrecy.

“I’m not allowed to name the counties. I signed a disclosure agreement,” said DeSantis.

Nearly six months later, Secretary of State Laurel Lee, the US Attorney, the FBI and others went public with their intent to protect and secure.

“We are all here to make clear that each of us will use those three hundred and sixty eight days to safe guard our election process,” said US Attorney for Florida’s Northern District Lawrence Keefe in November 2019.

Florida has spent tens of millions beefing up security since the last election.

Every county has been audited and there are now five full time cyber specialists working for the state.

“There have been problems that have been identified, and there’s been a response to that,” said Mark Earley, Election Supervisor for Leon County.

Earley is also the cyber security chair for Florida’s 67 elections supervisors.

He calls 2016 a wake up call.

“It brought this to our awareness. It showed the need for partnerships, for more funding, and cooperation from county to county. Sharing resources, especially with those counties that have less funding and less expertise,” said Earley.

Earley also told us he has not been briefed on whether St. Lucie was indeed the other hacked county.

“It’s complete news to me,” said Earley.

The county said it was never told, to which Earley replied any supervisor that may have been compromised deserves to know.

While the election is just under two months away, mail ballots go out in two weeks, on September 24th.

So far, just over 2.6 million have been requested.

The Presidential race in Florida is tightening as Election Day moves ever recent polls reflect both campaigns are making strides with unexpected demographics.

Meeting with Trump Campaign volunteers in the state’s capital, we spoke exclusively with Senior Trump Campaign advisor John Pence, who is also the nephew of Vice President Mike Pence.

“Just last week we made over 730,000 phone calls, knocked over 400,000 doors across the State of Florida,” said Pence.

Florida is a must win for both campaigns.

A new survey from St. Pete Polls shows Biden up three points, but an NBC poll put the race in a dead tie.

The NBC poll shows Trump up by four points among latino voters.

“That message of standing up for freedom at home and abroad, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom for the unborn, it’s resonating with every community in every corner of this country,” said Pence.

But Democratic Strategist Steve Scale doesn’t lend too much credence to the NBC poll.

“If you only talk to maybe 140 or 50 hispanics, you know if you get too many Cubans for example, the poll is going to look too Republican, if you get too many Puerto Ricans it’d look too Democratic,” said Schale, who also acts as Executive Director for Unite the Country, a super PAC backing Joe Biden.

And Schale said Biden is also making strides among other key demographics.

“He’s doing better than Hilary Clinton among seniors, he’s doing better than Hilary Clinton among suburban white women, he’s doing a little better among African Americans,” said Schale.

And while Biden seems to have a slight advantage right now, Democrats aren’t taking it for granted.

Obama was down in Florida polls around this time in 2008 and 2012, but ended up winning the state both years.

Democrats fear Trump is just as capable of making a similar comeback.

The St. Pete Poll also found 73 percent of Florida voters plan to either vote early or by mail, compared to just 27 percent who plan to vote in person on Election Day.

The Florida Alliance of Retired Americans and the NAACP participated in a statewide zoom meeting Thursday, urging people to vote by mail.

The campaign hopes to let people know vote by mail is safe in Florida, where voters must request ballots ahead of time.

Adner Marcelin with the NAACP said it’s also important to track your mail ballot after returning it.

“We’re fortunate to have a system when your ballot is mailed out. When it’s received, and when it’s tabulated so you can make sure your ballot is there. But if you notice on election day that your ballot still has not been counted, and you sent it in early. It gives you enough time to go to the Supervisor of Elections office and make sure you alert them to the problem and correct your ballot if anything needs to be done with that,” said Marcelin.

Requested mail ballots go out statewide on the 24th of September.

So far, just over 2.6 million mail ballots have been requested.

Governor Ron DeSantis has vetoed legislation that would have added new regulations and protections to curb the youth vaping epidemic.

The veto comes as a welcome surprise to the vape industry and has been met with lukewarm disappointment from health organizations.

The legislation would have banned flavored vape products, raised the age to purchase tobacco and nicotine products to 21 and created some regulations around the sale of vape products through the mail.

The American Cancer Society had taken a neutral position on the bill, arguing it didn’t go far enough to curb the youth vaping epidemic.

American Cancer Society Vice President of Regional Advocacy Paul Hull said three out of ten youth in Florida now admit to vaping.

“At the end of the day, this particular bill, we do agree with the Governor that it wouldn’t have done much,” said Hull.

While the bill raised the age to purchase tobacco and vape products to 21, the federal government already raised the age nationally back in December.

The American Cancer Society did note, by including the change in Florida law it could have helped with enforcement.

In his veto letter, the Governor made note most of the vaping related health issues that made national headlines earlier this year were the result of black market THC vape products.

He feared banning flavors would have pushed more youth onto the black market.

“So it would have effectively just shut down local brick and mortar retailers,” said Jonathan Risteen, owner of Gentleman’s Draw Vape Shop in Edgewood Florida.

Risteen, who spoke against the legislation during the 2020 session, was pleasantly surprised by the veto.

“We are willing to do a lot of things, but one of those things that we’re not willing to do is take adults’ rights away,” said Risteen.

Ironically, both the vape industry and health groups agree the bill missed the ball, by not raising penalties for retailers who sell to underaged youth.

“And you know we’ll just go back to the drawing board next year,” said Hull.

Attorney General Ashley Moody was a staunch advocate for the banning of flavored vape products.

In an statement she told us she was disappointed by the Governor’s veto.

“The United States and Florida Surgeons General have declared vaping to be an epidemic. As the Attorney General and a mother, I will continue to advocate for legislation and in our courts to protect Florida’s children,” said Moody.

Floridians eligible for unemployment benefits on August 1st should soon see up to $900 in their accounts.

The money is coming from the Federal Lost Wages Assistance Program, but Democrats and the AFL-CIO argue the state could and should be doing much more.

As the state began processing the additional $300 payments, the total paid out by the state jumped by more than $815 million in one day.

That pushes the total payments since March over $15 billion, and likely over the $16 billion mark by Thursday.

“It’s basically at this point a total of $900 maximum that someone can get,” said State Senator Jose Javier Rodriguez.

While the additional cash is welcome, Democrats and the AFL-CIO argue it’s not enough.

“Florida has the stingiest unemployment system, and arguably the most dysfunctional system by design,” said Rodriguez.

On labors wish wist: More weeks of benefits with higher weekly payments.

“We know from the states own data, every dollar paid out in benefits generates a $1.64 in local economic activity. This is also a boon for the economy,” said Dr. Rich Templin with the Florida AFL-CIO.

The union argues the Governor could use his emergency powers to increase the length of eligibility and raise payments, but say he has chosen not to.

“The issue isn’t that he can’t try to order some of these things. If someone feels he can’t, then take him to court,” said Templin.

So far four of every five dollars paid in unemployment claims in Florida has come from the Federal Government, but even at that low percentage, the state has already exhausted three fourths of its reemployment trust fund, setting the stage for higher employer contributions in the future.

Anyone eligible for unemployment benefits on or after August 1st doesn’t have to do anything.

Payments for the weeks of August 1st, 8th, and 15th will automatically show up in your account.

Voters will see an amendment titled ‘All Voters Vote’ on the November ballot.

Under it, every candidate in a statewide or legislative race would appear on the primary ballot, regardless of party.

However, Florida’s Black Democrats worry special interests would use the amendment to dilute Black representation in the State Capitol.

All Voters Vote or Amendment Three, would allow every registered voter to cast their vote in a single primary election.

The top two vote getters, regardless of party, would then advance to the November election.

Florida’s Black Democrats came out against the amendment, fearing it will result in fewer minorities in office.

“Black voting share in the Democratic Primary in Senator Gibson’s seat is 70 percent right now. If this were to pass, that number would drop to 43 percent,” said former State Representative Sean Shaw.

Both political parties oppose Amendment Three.

Both spoke out against it at Florida’s Supreme Court last year.

Democrats were quick to point out that in 2018 the top two vote getters in the race for Governor were both Republicans.

“If this had been the law of the land in 2018, the top two vote getters for Governor were Ron Desantis and Adam Putnam,” said Shaw.

In a previous interview, All Voters Vote told us that the idea of two GOP candidates advancing to the general election ignores reality.

“That is a falsehood perpetrated by both parties. And they’re doing something that’s very hypocritical. They’re forgetting about 3.7 million voters who are nonparty affiliates who couldn’t have voted in those primaries,” said Glen Burhans with All Voters Vote.

So far there has been little organized opposition to All Voters Vote.

That could change, but time is running out to raise money and mount a campaign against it.

If approved, the amendment will likely be challenged over whether the Voting Rights Act and the Fair Districting Amendment to the state constitution requires minorities have an opportunity to be elected.

Social justice activists in the state’s capital city are calling for charges to be dropped against 14 who were arrested during a Black Lives Matter protest Saturday.

Protesters had been demonstrating in opposition to grand jury decisions not to press charges against officers involved in three fatal police shootings.

Protesters were warned in advance not to block traffic.

The situation escalated when law enforcement pulled over one activist leader for allegedly driving too slow.

The ensuing incident led to the arrest of 15.

14 were taken to jail.

Most face an array of misdemeanor charges, but two face felonies for resisting arrest with violence and inciting a riot.

“One of the Tally14 is actually facing, possibly facing ten years in jail,” said Lakey Love with the Tallahassee Community Action Committee.

Now activist groups are calling for all of the charges against what they dub the ‘Tally14’ to be dropped.

They blame police for the escalation.

“This was a strategic plan in my view to quell protests and stifle a movement,” said Saskiya Fagan with Dream Defenders Tallahassee.

Activists accuse police of treating Black Lives Matter protesters harsher than counter protesters.

They point to the lack of charges in an August incident where a counter demonstrator man pulled a gun during a scuffle.

“It’s no coincidence that the people who were targeted were black leaders,” said Delilah Pirre with the Tallahassee Community Action Committee.

The activists have raised more than $17,000 through GoFundMe for the Tally14, to pay medical bills for three who activists say were hospitalized and for the legal defense of those arrested.

We reached out to the State Attorney to ask if he plans to go forward with the charges against the protesters, but did not hear back in time for this story.

Fearing that evictions threaten to increase the spread of Covid-19, the Centers for Disease Control has issued an order banning all evictions, not just those in federally financed units, through the end of the year.  And as Mike Vasilinda tells us, the order is likely to be challenged.

The web site Eviction Lab estimates there are more than seven point one million renters in Florida. A second eviction tracking site says 1 point one million of them are at risk of eviction, which is why legal services attorneys like Kelly Kildam are applauding the CDC’s moratorium.

“We’re going to take this CDC order as its written and use it to help our clients avoid eviction” says the eviction specialist.

The language of the CDC order appears to allow anyone unable to pay their rent, regardless of whether it’s Covid related, to stay in their home through the end of the year. 

“We’re definitely expecting some legal challenges” says Kildam. Primarily because such an order from the CDC is unusual.

Under the order, tenants must swear they are seeking financial help, make less than a hundred thousand, they are unable to pay, and that they will try to make partial payments.

“I hope it stays in force so that my clients and other Floridians don’t have to worry about  homelessness or potentially being exposed to this virus by not being able to shelter in place” say Kildam.

And unlike the states moratorium, this CDC order does apply to commercial businesses.

The Florida Apartment Association says it has “serious concerns” the CDC issued the moratorium with a federal rental assistance fund in place.

Legislative affairs Director Amanda Gill told us “We’re hopeful that Congress will explore the idea of providing rent relief at the federal level, not only for tenants but also landlords”

And the CDC Order does allow renters to evicted for reasons other than not being able to pay rent, such as criminal activity, or causing significant damage.

Under the CDC order, residents still must pay their past due rent, including any late or other fees allowed under the lease.