Clinton cites 24th Amendment in response to bill that would require felons to pay fees before voting

Hillary Clinton on Wednesday cited the 24th Amendment in response to a Florida bill that would require felons to pay off all their court fees and costs before voting.

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election… shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax,” the former senator and secretary of State tweeted.

“Amendment 24, Section 1.”

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election… shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.”

Amendment 24, Section 1. https://t.co/mKgufOUHJa

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) March 20, 2019

A Florida House committee approved a measure Tuesday that could significantly curtail a state constitutional amendment restoring voting rights to those convicted of a felony.

{mosads}Such individuals would reportedly be required to pay back all court fines, even if they weren’t handed down by a judge as part of their sentence, before being able to vote.

The measure comes just month after Floridians voted to automatically restore voting rights to the state’s 1.5 million felons.

Other politicians have linked the measure and the 24th Amendment.

“It’s blatantly unconstitutional as a poll tax,” Florida state Rep. Adam Hattersley (D) said.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) also called out the measure, tweeting, “A poll tax by any other name…”

The Florida panel’s chairman, Rep. James Grant (R), defended the measure, dismissing the idea that paying back fines had a connection to a poll tax. 

“To suggest that this is a poll tax inherently diminishes the atrocity of what a poll tax actually was,” Grant said. “All we’re doing is following statute. All we’re doing is following the testimony of what was presented before the Florida Supreme Court explicitly acknowledging that fines and court costs are part of a sentence.”