Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody said she requested that the agencies investigate "potential violations of election laws." Bloomberg, a former New York mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, and his political operation have raised more than $16 million from supporters and foundations over the last week to pay the court fines and fees for more than 30,000 Black and Latino voters in Florida with felonies, allowing them to vote in the upcoming election. The fundraising effort, according to multiple Bloomberg aides, will benefit the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, an organization run by formerly incarcerated people who are working to make it easier for ex-felons to vote. "This transparent political ploy is just the latest example of Republicans attempting to keep Floridians disenfranchised," Jason Schechter, a Bloomberg spokesperson, told CNN. The attorney general said Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' office had asked her to review the matter. DeSantis' office has not yet responded to CNN's request for comment. Moody's letter, dated Wednesday, said, "After preliminarily reviewing this limited public information and law, it appears further investigation is warranted." Voters in Florida approved a constitutional amendment during the 2018 midterm elections that restored voting rights to more than a million people previously convicted of felonies, excluding those imprisoned for murder or sex offenses. Republican officials in the state passed and signed a subsequent law that required all former felons to pay theirRead More – Source
Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody said she requested that the agencies investigate "potential violations of election laws." Bloomberg, a former New York mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, and his political operation have raised more than $16 million from supporters and foundations over the last week to pay the court fines and fees for more than 30,000 Black and Latino voters in Florida with felonies, allowing them to vote in the upcoming election. The fundraising effort, according to multiple Bloomberg aides, will benefit the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, an organization run by formerly incarcerated people who are working to make it easier for ex-felons to vote. "This transparent political ploy is just the latest example of Republicans attempting to keep Floridians disenfranchised," Jason Schechter, a Bloomberg spokesperson, told CNN. The attorney general said Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' office had asked her to review the matter. DeSantis' office has not yet responded to CNN's request for comment. Moody's letter, dated Wednesday, said, "After preliminarily reviewing this limited public information and law, it appears further investigation is warranted." Voters in Florida approved a constitutional amendment during the 2018 midterm elections that restored voting rights to more than a million people previously convicted of felonies, excluding those imprisoned for murder or sex offenses. Republican officials in the state passed and signed a subsequent law that required all former felons to pay theirRead More – Source
