Opinion ID: 76404
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: poll tax/wealth discrimination claims

Text: 46 Access to the franchise cannot be made to depend on an individual's financial resources. Harper v. Va. State Bd. of Elections, 383 U.S. 663, 668, 86 S.Ct. 1079, 16 L.Ed.2d 169 (1966). As the Second Circuit has stated, [t]he focal question is whether [the State], once having agreed to permit ex-felons to regain their vote and having established administrative machinery for this purpose, can then deny access to this relief, solely because one is too poor to pay the required fee. Bynum v. Conn. Comm'n on Forfeited Rights, 410 F.2d 173, 175-76 (2d Cir.1969) (sending challenge to Connecticut's $5 fee for filing an application for restoration of rights to a three-judge district court). 47 In this case, however, Florida's Rules of Executive Clemency do not deny access to the franchise to those too poor to pay restitution. 28 Under the Rules, restoration of civil rights, including the franchise, can still be granted to felons who cannot afford to pay restitution. We are not convinced that requiring a hearing under certain circumstances, including the failure to pay restitution, is sufficient to support the Plaintiffs' claim. Thus, because the current Rules of Executive Clemency do not deny access to the restoration of the franchise based on ability to pay, we affirm the district court's judgment that no violation of the constitutional and statutory prohibitions against poll taxes exists here. 29