Bloomberg's donation for the paying of fines is perfectly legal and here's why

[StarfishSaver]

First, the story is being misreported. Bloomberg isn't paying ex-felons fines. He's raising money for and donating to the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, a Florida non-profit that pays fines for ex-felons. The FRRC has been doing this for years, it's part of one of its core missions to help end felon disenfranchisement, and it is completely legit activity.

The law permits a third party to pay fines or other costs necessary to allow people to vote (for example, help with paying for state iDs, providing rides to the polls, donating stamps for mail-in ballots, etc.) as long as the payment is not conditioned upon the person actually voting. For example, if a person tells someone "If you promise to vote, I will pay you $20" and they vote in return for receiving the $20, that is illegal. But saying, "I see you are unable to vote because you owe a fine or you can't afford to get the birth certificate you need to obtain an ID or you don't have the money for transportation to the polls, so I will pay that fine or cost for you so that you have the ability to vote if you want," that is legal.

But in this case, Bloomberg isn't even paying the fines himself. He's making a donation to a charity that pays fines with the expectation that they will use that money for the legal activity that they already do and is actually part of their mission to end felon disenfranchisement.

It's not even a close call and the Florida AG knows it. This is just part of the Trump strategy to throw sand and doubt into every aspect of the election that he can so they can later claim it was rigged.

Please don't fall for it or help to disseminate it. Share the facts.

https://floridarrc.com/

[Iliyah]

1. Bloomberg's attorneys researched it . . .

Florida AG knows it too. Kissing shithole's arse.

[StarfishSaver]

2. Yep

And the way they structured it is actually brilliant. He donates to a bonafide nonprofit for one of its core activities, they get much needed funding, he gets a write-off, and the public gets a big education about felon disenfranchisement (as well as the lengths the Republicans are willing to go to prevent people from voting).

[jimfields33]

4. This is a delay tactic

October 6th the DA will say, ok it’s legal, you can begin registering. October 8th is deadline. I guarantee that’s what they are doing.

[TreasonousBastard]

3. Bloomberg is far too smart to do something illegal, but he is still effectively paying their fines..

I don't have a problem with that, but the situation is still ridiculous-- why can't he just pay the fines outright?

Prostitution is illegal-- I cannot pay a woman for sex. OK, but I can take her out for a great night and get sex. I can also have her as a part time girlfriend and pay her rent and other expenses. I can even marry her and let her share my bed and my wealth. I can also make a porn movie and pay her to act in it.

All of that is perfectly legal and generally acceptable. Just don't hand her a hundred bucks for an hour or two.

It's all the same thing. And it's silly.

[StarfishSaver]

5. No it's not the same thing because, unlike paying fines, paying fines isn't illegal

Even if he paid them directly, it wouldn't be illegal.

He's not giving the money to the organization in order to skirt the law. He's doing it that way because the organization is much better equipped to disburse the money. Bloomberg doesn't need or want to have to set up an entire infrastructure for identifying the people and distributing the funds. The organization is already set up to do that and can do it efficiently and correctly.

But if he wanted to just give it to them directly, unlike giving a prostitute a hundred bucks, he'd be perfectly within the law.

[mcar]

6. Gee, what a surprise!

FL Republicans lying.

Thanks for this, SS. It will help.

[writes3000]

7. Great information. Thanks for sharing.

[mucifer]

8. But then you can't have a poll tax .

[StarfishSaver]

9. The Republican meltdown over this is proof positive that this is indeed a poll tax

On the one hand, they claim that the fines/fees requirement is not a poll tax because it is completely unrelated to voting. Yet, now they're claiming that paying the fines and fees is an illegal payment in return for voting. If the fines and fees are actually that closely tied to voting, it is a poll tax.

[Midnight Writer]

10. Trump offered to pay legal fees for people if they broke the law for him. Now that is illegal.

[Gothmog]

11. The claim by the FLa. AG makes no sense to me

Link to tweet

[StarfishSaver]

12. Jesse Walker is exactly right

They are all over the place.

[Yavin4]

13. They will have to pay taxes on it though.

Govt sees it as income.

[StarfishSaver]

14. Maybe, maybe not - depends on how it's classified

[Gothmog]

15. The racist anti-vote effort by Florida Republicans hits a new low

This is a good analysis of the bogus arguments from the racist Florida AG and trump https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-racist-anti-vote-effort-by-florida-republicans-hits-a-new-low/2020/09/27/5d5a7450-fe9d-11ea-8d05-9beaaa91c71f_story.html

ALTHOUGH THEY claim to believe in democracy, Republicans are working feverishly to make it harder for people — or certain kinds of people — to vote. They have undertaken efforts across the country to purge voters from registration rolls, impede voting by mail and stop early voting. An appalling new low in their campaign to disenfranchise people in advance of the Nov. 3 elections has been reached with the bid by Florida Republicans — cheered on by President Trump — to investigate Mike Bloomberg for the “crime” of trying to help people to be able to vote.

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) called on the FBI and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate efforts by the businessman, philanthropist and former New York mayor on behalf of an organization that is raising money to pay off the court debt of former felons so they can vote. The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which set up a fines and fees fund, is an organization run by formerly incarcerated people that spearheaded Florida’s adoption in 2018 of Amendment 4 restoring voting rights to former felons. Despite overwhelming, bipartisan approval, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and his GOP cohorts in the legislature worked to thwart the measure. They passed a law requiring former felons to repay outstanding legal debts, knowing full well that most of these people — mainly Black and Latino — don’t have the financial means. In many cases they can’t even find out how much they owe. A torturous legal battle ensued with a lower court ruling the law was unconstitutional because it amounted to a poll tax, but that decision was reversed by a federal appeals court on Sept. 11.....

Nonsense. Any money raised to pay fines and fees goes to a 501(c)(4) foundation, which then goes to the county or state, not to the former felons, who have no idea who helped pay their fines and fees. No one is obligated to register to vote or support a specific candidate. That the coalition’s effort has been underway for more than a year — with some debts already paid off — seems to have escaped the notice of Ms. Moody and other Republicans. No doubt the approach of Nov. 3 and polls showing Mr. Trump in a virtual tie in Florida with former vice president Joe Biden has got them paying attention.

The call for investigation is nothing more than another brazen effort to try to scare people — who have the legal right to vote — from going to the polls

.