Restoring felon voting rights 'a mess' in battleground Florida
Clifford Tyson wants to help choose America's next president.
But the former Florida felon is worried his vote might return him to jail.
SOT: CLIFFORD TYSON
"Until there is clarity, as much as I want to vote I can't do it because I want to play by the rules."
Last year, Floridians approved a groundbreaking ballot initiative restoring voting rights to more than 1 million felons who have completed their sentences.
But then the Republican-controlled legislature imposed sharp restrictions on the measure.
For Tyson, who became a pastor after he was released from prison more than 30 years ago, the new requirement isn't an easy hurdle to overcome.
If he wants to vote - he must pay court-ordered fines and fees for three felony convictions - one for robbery, two for theft, all decades old.
The problem is, Tyson can't figure out how much he owes.
SOT: CLIFFORD TYSON
"I've actually been to the clerk of court four times to try and get them to navigate. When I tried over the phone they couldn't find what I was talking about. So we went down in the first couple of times they gave me the same papers already and I'm telling them that's not what I'm looking for I'm looking for a certain paper and they're getting frustrated."
Under the law, Tyson must pay those penalties before casting a ballot.
If he doesn't, he could risk being prosecuted for voter fraud.
After an exhaustive search of court records, first on his own, then with the help of a nonprofit legal advocacy group, what he owes is still unclear.
Records show potential sums ranging from $846 to several thousand, according to attorney Sean Morales-Doyle of the Brennan Center for Justice.
SOT: SEAN MORALES-DOYLE, BRENNAN CENTER
"There's no one stop shop for getting an answer. It is completely you know piecing together a puzzle. And quite frankly it's difficult for a team of lawyers to do it, your average person living in Florida isn't going to be able to do it."
Tyson is now a plaintiff in a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union and a coalition of civil rights groups challenging the fees requirement.
At a crucial hearing on Monday, plaintiffs' attorneys will ask a federal judge to throw out the law.
They argue it's an unjust poll tax on newly enfranchised Florida felons.
Leah Aden from the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
SOT: LEAH ADEN, NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND
13:38:28 "They know that for some people having a ten thousand fine when you come out of jail is something that you will that will stay with you for the rest of your life."
Lawyers will also argue the law is an impossible standard because Florida has no dedicated system for determining what felons owe and what they have paid, according to Julie Ebenstein of the ACLU.
SOT: JULIE EBENSTEIN, ACLU
"Right now, the system is just a mess."
State election officials like Polk County Elections Supervisor Lori Edwards tell Reuters they can't figure it out either.
SOT: LORI EDWARDS, POLK COUNTY ELECTIONS SUPERVISOR
"The tools don't exist. There is not one clearinghouse, there's not one place where somebody gets a gold star next to their record that says OK you paid everything."
Some backers of the payments law say the onus should be on felons, not the state, to figure out how to comply.
J.C. Martin, chairman of the Polk County Republican Party.
SOT: J.C. MARTIN, CHAIRMAN OF THE POLK COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY IN CENTRAL FLORIDA
"If you're going to register to vote and you're a former felon, it's worth double checking to make sure you took care of everything. I think that responsibility should be on them."
With the February 18 deadline to register for the state's 2020 presidential primary fast approaching, the issue is taking on urgency.
According to a study by a Florida elections expert - an estimated 436,000 felons have fees to settle before they vote.
