The nation in brief

Court: Felons must pay fines to vote

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Florida felons must pay all fines, restitution and legal fees before they can regain their right to vote, a federal appellate court ruled Friday.

Reversing a lower court judge's decision that gave Florida felons the right to vote regardless of outstanding legal obligations, the order from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was a disappointment to voting rights activists and could have national implications in November's presidential election.

In a 200-page ruling on a 6-4 vote, the full 11th Circuit said the Constitution's due process clause was not violated by the passage of the law implementing Amendment 4.

Under Amendment 4, felons -- except for convicted murderers and rapists -- who have completed their sentences would have voting rights restored.

But the legal dispute arose after the Republican-controlled state Legislature in 2019 moved to define what it means to complete a sentence. In addition to time served, lawmakers stipulated that all legal financial obligations, including unpaid fines and restitution, would also have to be settled before a felon could be eligible to vote.

The ruling could influence the election outcome in November. Florida is considered a must-win state in President Donald's Trump's bid for reelection. Florida's disenfranchised felons represent a significant bloc in a state well known for razor-thin election margins. Democrats had hopes of gaining support from thousands of former felons in Florida.

Judge: Ballot applications plan a go

AUSTIN, Texas. -- The most populous county in Texas can move forward with plans to send all registered voters a mail-in ballot application for the November general election, a state judge ruled Friday.

The ruling comes a week after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, sued Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins to stop his office from sending mail-in ballot applications to all 2.4 million Houston area voters. The county announced earlier this month that it planned to send registered voters applications, regardless of whether they qualify to vote by mail.

In Texas, mail-in ballots are generally restricted to voters who are 65 or older, disabled or will be outside the county on Election Day.

Earlier in the day, a federal appeals court dealt a blow to vote-by-mail advocates in Texas when a divided three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a lower court ruling allowing mail balloting during the coronavirus pandemic late Thursday, rejecting an argument that the vote-by-mail statute in Texas discriminates on the basis of age.

Democrat exits Georgia U.S. House race

ATLANTA -- The Democratic candidate for a U.S. House seat in Georgia dropped out of the race Friday, clearing a near-certain path to victory for a QAnon-supporting Republican contender who has been criticized for her incendiary comments.

Democrat Kevin Van Ausdal bowed out of the race for "personal and family reasons," his campaign manager Vinny Olsziewski told The Associated Press.

On Friday, Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs said the window has passed for Democrats to replace Van Ausdal on the ballot, likely sealing a win for the already-favored Marjorie Taylor Greene. Van Ausdal faced long odds in Georgia's deep-red 14th Congressional District.

Greene, under fire for her remarks about minorities and ethnic groups, also is one of a growing list of candidates who have expressed support for QAnon, the far-right U.S. conspiracy theory that posits that President Donald Trump is fighting entrenched enemies in the government that also involve satanism and child sex trafficking.

Zoom voting-machine hearing disrupted

ATLANTA -- A federal hearing on a challenge to Georgia's voting machines was interrupted Friday when someone began posting video and symbols during the live Zoom session, including images from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, a swastika and pornography.

Before the interruption, there were roughly 100 people signed in as participants and observers to the high-profile hearing.

During testimony by a voting machine company executive, at least two people -- one with the user name Osama -- began posting rapidly changing videos and still images, some accompanied by music, by sharing their screens with the video conference. The court quickly ended the Zoom session.

The hearing resumed via Zoom about an hour later with a virtual waiting room set up so that participants and observers had to be admitted by the court staff. A member of the court staff was designated to share exhibits sent to her by attorneys.

Election integrity activists and individual voters who filed the lawsuit say Georgia's voting machines are unaccountable and unverifiable, and have security vulnerabilities. State officials argue that the new machines have been thoroughly tested. They also say it would be costly and too difficult to make a switch so close to the general election.

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