Bloomberg pays fines for 32,000 felons in Florida so they can vote

[Right_in_Virginia]

Bloomberg pays fines for 32,000 felons in Florida so they can vote
The Hill, Sep 22, 2020

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg has reportedly raised more than $16 million in an effort to help convicted felons in Florida register to vote.

The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition estimated Bloomberg's fundraising push has already paid off monetary obligations for 32,000 felons, Axios reported.

"The right to vote is fundamental to our democracy and no American should be denied that right," a Bloomberg spokesperson told the news outlet. "Working together with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, we are determined to end disenfranchisement and the discrimination that has always driven it."

Florida passed a law in 2018 reinstating voting rights for felons that dictated they could register only if they pay all fines, fees and restitution — sometimes totaling more than $1,000 — owed to the government.


https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/517522-bloomberg-pays-fines-for-32000-felons-in-florida-so-they-can-vote

[skeeter]

Minimike is vying with Soros for the title of Anti-American billionaire *sshole of the Year.

[RedHead]

Minimike is vying with Soros for the title of Anti-American billionaire *sshole of the Year.

Still you've got to give him credit.  If Florida is going to be as close as people say then 32,000 potential voters can make a big difference. 

[skeeter]

Still you've got to give him credit.  If Florida is going to be as close as people say then 32,000 potential voters can make a big difference.

Nah. No I don't.

And I do not believe it will be close. Not on election night, anyway.

[mountaineer]

Li'l Mike and Big Jerk.

LeBron James seeks to help pay fines owed by Florida felons so they can vote in November: Report
by Madison Dibble, Breaking News Reporter |
 | September 22, 2020 05:32 PM

Print this article

NBA star LeBron James has reportedly been reaching out to convicted felons to help them pay any lingering fines that are preventing them from being able to vote.

James has partnered with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition to send text messages to notify anyone who may qualify for the assistance, according to OutKick.

"We're teaming up with LeBron James to break down barriers to voting for people w/ felony convictions. Do you know anyone that needs their fines & fees paid off so they can vote?" one of the text messages reads.  ...

Washington Examiner

Outkick:

LeBron Actively Looking to Pay Convicted Felons’ Fines to Vote in Election
by Bobby Burack
updated about 6 hours ago   

Celebrities and athletes are known to endorse presidential candidates. LeBron James is taking that initiative a step further.

LeBron and the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition are actively sending text messages to residents for the purpose of forwarding them to convicted felons, Outkick has learned. ...

[libertybele]

Still you've got to give him credit.  If Florida is going to be as close as people say then 32,000 potential voters can make a big difference.

Credit for buying an election???

[Right_in_Virginia]

Still you've got to give him credit.  If Florida is going to be as close as people say then 32,000 potential voters can make a big difference.

Seriously?  Bribery is now okay with you.  Is there ANYTHING you won't do to get Slo Joe installed @RedHead

[Right_in_Virginia]

Rep. Matt Gaetz
@RepMattGaetz

#BREAKING: I'm calling on the Florida Attorney General to launch an investigation into @MikeBloomberg for potentially engaging in bribery and vote buying in the state of Florida.

Video:

https://twitter.com/RepMattGaetz/status/1308520026950037509

5:34 PM · Sep 22, 2020·Twitter Media Studio

[mountaineer]

Rep. Matt Gaetz   @RepMattGaetz
#BREAKING: I'm calling on the Florida Attorney General to launch an investigation into @MikeBloomberg for potentially engaging in bribery and vote buying in the state of Florida.
5:34 PM · Sep 22, 2020

[RedHead]

Credit for buying an election???

Candidates have been buying elections since forever. 

[RedHead]

Rep. Matt Gaetz   @RepMattGaetz
#BREAKING: I'm calling on the Florida Attorney General to launch an investigation into @MikeBloomberg for potentially engaging in bribery and vote buying in the state of Florida.
5:34 PM · Sep 22, 2020

Is Bloomberg making his charity dependent on voting for a specific candidate?  If he isn't then Gaetz doesn't have a case.

[RedHead]

Seriously?  Bribery is now okay with you.  Is there ANYTHING you won't do to get Slo Joe installed @RedHead

Is Bloomberg making his charity dependent on the person voting for a specific candidate?  If he isn't then how is it bribery? 

[Right_in_Virginia]

Is Bloomberg making his charity dependent on the person voting for a specific candidate?  If he isn't then how is it bribery?

That's what the call for an investigation is all about.

Think before you try to snark @RedHead

[RedHead]

That's what the call for an investigation is all about.

Think before you try to snark @RedHead

No the investigation is about Bloomberg upsetting the Florida legislature's plan to ensure convicted felons don't vote.  I think studies have shown that they tend to vote Democrat and the legislature tried to make sure that they couldn't vote.  They didn't see Bloomberg coming apparently.  I may disagree with his intent but I've got to giving grudging credit for the way he outsmarted the Florida legislature.

[libertybele]

Candidates have been buying elections since forever.

 

[libertybele]

No the investigation is about Bloomberg upsetting the Florida legislature's plan to ensure convicted felons don't vote.  I think studies have shown that they tend to vote Democrat and the legislature tried to make sure that they couldn't vote.  They didn't see Bloomberg coming apparently.  I may disagree with his intent but I've got to giving grudging credit for the way he outsmarted the Florida legislature.

 

[skeeter]

Candidates have been buying elections since forever.

Paying for votes has always been illegal. And openly attempting it doesn't take alot of brains.

[Right_in_Virginia]

No the investigation is about Bloomberg upsetting the Florida legislature's plan to ensure convicted felons don't vote. 

It's absolutely not @RedHead  The FL Supreme Court just upheld felons must pay their fines in order to vote. Hence, the potential vote buying by Minimike and the need for an investigation into such illegal activity.

[Smokin Joe]

Credit for buying an election???

Credit, Hell, that sumbeech better pay CASH!

(and use the money to FUND THE POLICE!)

[RedHead]

Paying for votes has always been illegal. And openly attempting it doesn't take alot of brains.

Of course it is.  How many times have presidents or senators or congressmen announced major spending initiatives in toss-up states and districts just before an election?  Politics is a full-contact sport.  Both sides on an election will take whatever steps they can to win.

[RedHead]

It's absolutely not @RedHead  The FL Supreme Court just upheld felons must pay their fines in order to vote. Hence, the potential vote buying by Minimike and the need for an investigation into such illegal activity.

So the Florida legislature tried to suppress the vote and Bloomberg outsmarted them.  Where is the illegality?  Think of it as 32,000 gofundme sites.

[Smokin Joe]

So the Florida legislature tried to suppress the vote and Bloomberg outsmarted them.  Where is the illegality?  Think of it as 32,000 gofundme sites.

Well, the Florida Supreme Court upheld the law that the fines had to be paid before rights were reinstated, which makes sense, considering fines are part of a sentence (and sometimes the whole thing) which in most states must be fully served before rights are reinstated. Nothing unusual about that, when the sentence is fully served, it is done and the debt to society is paid. No I.O.U.s, but paid in full. 

So, Bloomberg just picked up the tab for these 32,000 felons, and it's an obvious vote buying ploy in a battlefield state, not something done out of the goodness of his heart, otherwise, he'd be doing the same thing in Iowa and North Dakota, too.

[Lando Lincoln]

I doubt there is a state in the Union that doesn't have laws prohibiting the exchange of something of value for a vote.  Here is just a snippet of Florida's law:

No person shall directly or indirectly give or promise anything of value to another intending thereby to buy that person’s or another’s vote or to corruptly influence that person or another in casting his or her vote. Any person who violates this subsection is guilty of a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084. ...

https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2018/Chapter104/All

And, although it never seems to matter anymore, Bloomberg's move is ethically bankrupt.

[Lando Lincoln]

I'm sure Mr. Gun-Control-Bloomberg vetted these felons to ensure none of their crimes involved a firearm.  He is, after all, principled. 

[bigheadfred]

The word you are looking for is chicanery.