As the world watches the United States stagger into the third day of vote counting, this year’s election is a reminder of another way the country stands out: criminal disenfranchisement.
Take Florida, a state some polls suggested Joe Biden could win, even though President Donald Trump carried the state handily thanks to a boost in Latino support. But due to a loophole in a 2018 amendment to the Florida constitution, Floridians with felony convictions must pay all their fines and restitution before they can vote. That measure, which most affects Latino and Black voters, kept an estimated 900,000 felons who have served their time disenfranchised—more than Trump’s expected margin of victory.
