ON "60 MINUTES": THE AMENDMENT RESTORING FLORIDA FELONS WITH THE RIGHT TO VOTE IS MIRED IN LEGAL AND PARTISAN DEBATES ON THE EVE OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Both Sides Say Case in the Key Swing State May End Up in the Supreme Court

Amendment 4 to Florida's Constitution restored voting rights to as many as 1.4 million Floridians who had committed felonies. But complications, confusion and contentions over its implementation have left hundreds of thousands of felons unable to register for the upcoming presidential election. Registration ends in Florida on Oct. 5, just over a week from now. Lesley Stahl reports from the key swing state on a case that may very well wind up in the U.S. Supreme Court on the next edition of 60 MINUTES, Sunday, Sept. 27 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Desmond Meade, a convicted felon himself and head of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, was the force behind getting this amendment passed, in great part by fostering bipartisan support. "Up until Amendment 4, approximately 10 percent of the voting age population was denied the franchise," he tells Stahl. "Florida disenfranchised more people than the population of over 10 states and U.S. territories, and over 40 countries in the world." And when it comes to African American voters, Meade says the number is closer to one in four who can't vote in the state.

Some say the state is still disenfranchising many of those citizens because of a law the Florida legislature passed several months after the amendment was implemented, making it much harder to meet the eligibility requirements to vote. According to the original amendment, felons could vote unless they were convicted of murder or felony sexual assault, and only after they completed "all terms of sentence including parole or probation." The new law clarified that all terms of sentence meant paying in full any outstanding fees, fines and restitution connected to their sentences. Nearly 800,000 felons still owe debts as part of their sentences, and state statistics indicate the vast majority of them don't pay the full amount. What's more, as 60 MINUTES discovered, many felons can't figure out how much they actually owe. They often have to navigate a labyrinth of bureaucracy, because each of Florida's 67 counties has its own archive of sentencing documents. "Miss Stahl, nobody knows. This is the problem. There is no way of tracking who paid what for the last 40 years," says Pastor Clifford Tyson, a convicted felon who tried in vain to figure out how much he owed.

The bill clarifying Amendment 4, called SB7066, was passed by the Florida Republican majority legislature and signed into law. Tyson, who is a named plaintiff in a lawsuit against the state of Florida, says the law amounts to an unconstitutional tax. "It's crazy but it's designed. To me, it's like a poll tax. Okay? Voter suppression," he says. "Black, brown, lower income - it affects them the most." Tyson says it's just like the Jim Crow laws that required African American voters to take a literacy test, pay a poll tax. He told Stahl he recalls his mother being asked at the poll to guess correctly how many jellybeans were in a jar before she was allowed to vote.

Republican State Sen. Jeff Brandes, who helped author the law, says it's exactly what his state's citizens voted for. "The question in Florida is, 'Are you a felon?' And if you are a felon, 'Have you completed all terms of your sentence?' Part of that sentence included fines, fees and restitution. All we've said is, 'They must complete all terms of their sentence,' which is exactly what the voters voted for in the state of Florida," he tells Stahl.

Told that some consider SB7066 a throwback to Jim Crow laws, Brandes says, "I have worked every year to try to improve the lives of those people involved in the criminal justice system in Florida. And even in this piece of legislation, I have tried to create opportunities for individuals who can't pay... to go back to the court and convert them to community service or to go to the court and ask for those fines and fees to be reduced," says Brandes.

In May, a federal judge in Florida ruled in Tyson's favor, saying Florida created an "unconstitutional pay-to-vote system." But earlier this month, the 11th Circuit Appellate Court upheld SB7066, calling the law "legitimate" and constitutional. One of the judges to side with the majority is Barbara Lagoa, who is rumored to be one of the top choices of President Donald Trump to fill the Supreme Court seat of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Meade is now raising money to try to pay off the debts of as many felons as possible who are interested in voting. He says he has raised over $23 million so far, which he estimates will clear the path for over 20,000 felons to vote. Among those donating were LeBron James, Michael Jordan and John Legend. This week it was announced that Michael Bloomberg helped raise $16 million. This has caused Florida's Republican attorney general to ask for an investigation into whether any of these donations violate the state's election laws.

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