Florida to pay debts of ex-convicts so they can vote

MIAMI: Billionaire Michael Bloomberg, singer John Legend and basketball star LeBron James are among donors who have raised US$20 million (RM83 million) to pay the debts of thousands of Florida felons so they can vote, a move that could affect the outcome of November’s US presidential election.

The Florida Rights Restoration Commission said on Tuesday it had raised the money to pay off the debts of ex-convicts in the state who had finished their prison sentences.

The organisation’s work was in response to a new law in the state blocking the voting rights of felons who had completed their prison sentences but still had outstanding fines or court fees.

Some of the released felons are up to tens of thousands of dollars in debt, and most are unable to pay.

The measure could block some 750,000 people from voting, an important figure given the critical role closely contested Florida could play in deciding the winner of the election.

Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination before Joe Biden secured his spot, was one of the effort’s biggest contributors.

“The right to vote is fundamental to our democracy and no American should be denied that right,” he said in a statement.

“We are determined to end disenfranchisement and the discrimination that has always driven it.”

More than 44,000 people throughout the country participated in the fundraising, including Michael Jordan, Cuban-American singer Camila Cabello, director Stephen Spielberg and his wife Kate Capshaw.

Organisations such as Warner Music, Levi Strauss, MTV, Comedy Central, VH1, the Miami Dolphins, Orlando Magic and Miami Heat also donated. – AFP