Lebron James & Michael Jordan Help Pay Court Fees For Felons To Vote

Michael Jordan and LeBron James have helped in getting Florida felons the right to vote in the presidential election

Both James and Jordan joined in to help Michael Bloomberg‘s $27 million effort to help pay off the fees and fines that allowed felons to vote in Tuesdays presidential election in Florida. It is not known how much the two basketball stars have contributed toward the effort. However, they both join in the list of celebrities that are helping Bloomberg to pay off the fines and fees.

Back in 2018, a total of 1.4 million Floridians had their right to vote restored thanks to Amendment 4, which allowed convicted felons who served their time except for murderers and sexual abusers to vote.

However, last year Republican state lawmakers and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) passed a law that required ex-felons to pay court fees and fines before they could vote, which has been viewed by many as a poll tax. This law was originally found to be unconstitutional back in May, but an appeals court overturned the ruling. The conservative judges on the court were appointed by President Donald Trump.

Seventy-five percent of ex-felons in Florida owe fees and fines, but 70 percent of them are unable to pay those fines and fees. There is no central database that keeps records of payments or of the fines that are owed, make them very difficult to pay.

To combat this, Bloomberg and other groups are working to pay off the fines to enable the ex-felons to gain back their right to vote. NBA team Miami Heat has donated a total of $40,000 to help with the fees. James has committed $100,000 to help.

The help has enabled 32 percent of ex-felons in Florida to register to vote so far.

Article by Allan Perez