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Floridians voted to enfranchise felons, but GOP plans new restrictions

Florida legislators are moving to minimize the impact of last fall's decision by the voters to restore voting rights to felons in the nation's third largest state.

The Republicans who dominate the state House began advancing legislation Tuesday that would require felons to pay all outstanding court fees and fines before they may go to the polls.

Critics say the move could block more than 80 percent of the 1.4 million Floridians who were supposed to be eligible to register starting this year.


Reporting by WLRN in Miami found that, in the last five years, over $1 billion in felony fines were issued but only 19 percent were paid, while the state association for court clerks deemed 83 percent of those fines to have "minimal collections expectations."

Democratic Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez of New York took to Twitter to label the legislation "a poll tax by any other name." Its Republican authors disputed that characterization and said their effort was to live – albeit strictly – with the terms the voters set.

But the constitutional amendment, approved in November by 65 percent of voters, makes no mention of restitutions. It says voting rights are to be restored after former felons "complete all terms of their sentence including parole or probation." Excepted are those convicted of "murder or sexual offenses."

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The bill would classify every felony with any kind of sexual component as a disqualifying "sexual offense," including operating an adult entertainment store too close to a school.

It was approved by committee Tuesday and now goes to the full House, where the GOP holds a 71-46 edge. Republicans hold a solid majority in the state Senate as well, and Gov. Ron DeSantis has signaled his support for the legislation.

"What the barriers proposed in this bill do is nearly guarantee that people will miss election after election ... because they cannot afford to pay financial obligations," Julie Ebenstein, a voting rights attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, told NBC News. "It's an affront to the Florida voters."

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Large Bipartisan Majorities Oppose Deep Cuts to Foreign Aid

The Program for Public Consultation at the University of Maryland releases a new survey, fielded February 6-7, 2025, with a representative sample of 1,160 adults nationwide.

Pexels, Tima Miroshnichenko

Large Bipartisan Majorities Oppose Deep Cuts to Foreign Aid

An overwhelming majority of 89% of Americans say the U.S. should spend at least one percent of the federal budget on foreign aid—the current amount the U.S. spends on aid. This includes 84% of Republicans and 94% of Democrats.

Fifty-eight percent oppose abolishing the U.S. Agency for International Development and folding its functions into the State Department, including 77% of Democrats and 62% of independents. But 60% of Republicans favor the move.

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A Super Bowl of Unity

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Getty Images, Adamkaz

A Super Bowl of Unity

Philadelphia is known as the City of Brotherly Love, and perhaps it is fitting that the Philadelphia Eagles won Sunday night's Super Bowl 59, given the number of messages of unity, resilience, and coming together that aired throughout the evening.

The unity messaging started early as the pre-game kicked off with movie star Brad Pitt narrating a moving ad that champions residence and togetherness in honor of those who suffered from the Los Angeles fires and Hurricane Helen:

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The Paradox for Independents

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The Paradox for Independents

Political independents in the United States are not chiefly moderates. In The Independent Voter, Thomas Reilly, Jacqueline Salit, and Omar Ali make it clear that independents are basically anti-establishment. They have a "mindset" that aims to dismantle the duopoly in our national politics.

I have previously written about different ways that independents can obtain power in Washington. First, they can get elected or converted in Washington and advocate with their own independent voices. Second, they can seek a revolution in which they would be the most dominant voice in Washington. And third, a middle position, they can seek a critical mass in the Senate especially, namely five to six seats, which would give them leverage to help the majority party get to 60 votes on policy bills.

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The Bureaucrat’s Dilemma When Dealing with a Charismatic Autocrat

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The Bureaucrat’s Dilemma When Dealing with a Charismatic Autocrat

Excerpt from To Stop a Tyrant by Ira Chaleff

In my book To Stop a Tyrant, I identify five types of a political leader’s followers. Given the importance of access in politics, I range these from the more distant to the closest. In the middle are bureaucrats. No political leader can accomplish anything without a cadre of bureaucrats to implement their vision and policies. Custom, culture and law establish boundaries for a bureaucrat’s freedom of action. At times, these constraints must be balanced with moral considerations. The following excerpt discusses ways in which bureaucrats need to thread this needle.

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