FILE – In this Feb. 27, 2020 file photo, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James appears during an NBA basketball game against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco. Though the coronavirus pandemic has upended graduation season, James is putting together an all-star event to honor and celebrate the Class of 2020. The one-hour special, “Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020,” will air simultaneously on NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox on May 16 at 8 p.m. EDT. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
TAMPA (WFLA) – NBA superstar Lebon James is advocating for ex-felons to return to the voting booth in Florida.
James’s voting rights group “More Than A Vote,” is donating $100,000 to help pay court debts keeping Florida voters from casting ballots in the election.
More Than A Vote was founded by James and other black athletes and entertainers aimed to protect black and brown voting rights in the age of racial injustice.
As the law stands now more than 700,000 Floridians with felony convictions have financial obligations that render them unable to vote.
The U.S. Supreme Court decided on Jul.16 that ex-felons will not be able to vote if they still owe fines or court fees.
In November 2018, more than 4 million Florida voters approved an effort to allow ex-felons to vote by amending the state’s constitution, as long as those felons were not convicted of sexual offenses or murder and had completed parole or probation.
Amendment 4 would allow an additional 1.4 million votes in the upcoming election. It went into effect in January 2019.Around 85,000 ex-felons have registered to vote since since January of 2019.
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