Last Call for 7.16.20 — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics

Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

The long-running fight over felon voting rights made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, but it declined to intervene.

The high court’s action, or lack thereof, doesn’t mark the end of the voting rights saga. The case is still set to go before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Aug. 18 — the same day as Florida’s primary election.

Chances are, no matter which way the appeals court leans in its ruling, the case will end up before the Supreme Court.

Still, the decision does quash any hope that voters with felony records would be able to vote next month.

Voting rights advocates had wanted the court to overrule the 11th Circuit’s decision to block a lower court judge’s ruling that would have allowed felons to register to vote.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan, penned a dissent arguing that the 11th Circuit’s override would block “thousands of otherwise eligible voters from participating in Florida’s primary election simply because they are poor.”

She later likened it to a “voter paywall.”

That aligns with the plaintiffs’ argument that the implementing bill passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last year is effectively a poll tax, which is a violation of the 24th Amendment to the Constitution.

“This is a deeply disappointing decision,” said Paul Smith, vice president of the Campaign Legal Center. “Florida’s voters spoke loud and clear when nearly two-thirds of them supported rights restoration at the ballot box in 2018. The Supreme Court stood by as the 11th Circuit prevented hundreds of thousands of otherwise eligible voters from participating in Florida’s primary election simply because they can’t afford to pay fines and fees. We look forward to continuing to fight for Florida voters so they can participate in the General Election in November.”

The law’s defenders, however, point to the text of the amendment approved by Florida voters in 2018. Specifically, that felons must “complete all terms of their sentence” before they can have their voting rights restored.

Coronavirus Numbers

Positive cases:

— 311,640 FL residents (+13,764 since Wednesday)

— 4,135 Non-FL residents (+201 since Wednesday)

Origin:

— 3,010 Travel related

— 83,565 Contact with a confirmed case

— 2,938 Both

— 222,127 Under investigation

Hospitalizations:

— 19,825 in FL

Deaths:

— 4,782 in FL

Unemployment numbers

As of Wednesday:

Total claims: 3,119,323

— Confirmed unique claims: 2,907,411

— Claim verification queue: 267,935

— Claims processed: 2,639,476

— Claims paid: 1,719,741 (+10,043 since Tuesday)

Total paid out: $10.32 billion (+$190 million since Tuesday)

Evening Reads

“Supreme Court won’t block Florida law limiting felons’ voting rights” via Axios

“RNC restricts convention attendance as Florida coronavirus cases climb” via Alex Isenstadt of POLITICO

“Florida sees another coronavirus fatality record of 156 as nearly 14,000 new cases added” via Michelle Marchante of the Miami Herald

“Share of positive COVID-19 tests now down week-to-week in all three major South Florida counties” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics

“‘100% confident’: Gov. Ron DeSantis video hypes bipartisan COVID-19 response” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics

“Gov. DeSantis suggests hospitals may use too much remdesivir to treat COVID-19 amid shortages” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics

“Florida’s First Couple unmasks COVID-19’s hidden effects” via Renzo Downey of Florida Politics

“Florida emergency workers test positive for COVID-19” via Arek Sarkissian of POLITICO Florida

“Florida jobless claims climb to more than 129,400” via Gary Fineout of POLITICO Florida

“Is Florida reinstating food stamp work requirements? Advocates can’t get answer” via Katie Santich of the Orlando Sentinel

“Jimmy Patronis trying to get SpaceX boss Elon Musk to move more of his business operations to Florida” via WFLA

“Is Polk School Board member Billy Townsend racist?” via Kimberly Moore of the Ledger of Lakeland

“The thought of going without those sweet and salty Apalachicola oysters for five years is hard to swallow” via Craig Pittman of Florida Phoenix

Quote of the Day

“People who might not necessarily have ever sought help in the past, now they’re thinking to themselves, how do I do this, how do I go and access the help that I’ve never had to research before, and finding that simplistic way for people to be able to get meaningful help.” — First Lady Casey DeSantis on the mental health impacts of the pandemic.

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