FLORIDA — Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a controversial bill into law Friday that restricts the restoration of voting rights to felons who have completed their sentences.

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The new law, SB 7066, requires felons to pay any outstanding court-ordered financial obligations to get their voting rights restored.

Critics argued that requiring that sort of restitution violated the spirit of Amendment 4, which Florida voters passed with 64.5 percent of the vote last November. Civil rights groups even went so far as to call the payment requirement a form of a poll tax, saying many cannont afford one big lump sum right off the bat.

Former-Mayor of Tallahassee Andrew Gillum was angry the penalties were kept, saying in a tweet, “I’m not calling DeSantis a racist, but his poll tax sure is… We will fight this every step of the way.”

Supporters, however, pointed out that it was written into Amendment 4 that felons must complete all stipulations of their sentences. They interpreted that language to include any court-ordered financial restitution, such as court costs, fines, and fees imposed by a judge at sentencing.

Republicans call it part of the restitution payments the returning citizens owe to the victims and the state. 

The bill does allow other pathways for felons to have financial obligations forgiven beyond simply paying them. Among the options would be to have a victim forgive the repayment of restitution or to have a judge convert financial obligations to community service.

Hours after DeSantis signed the bill, the League of Women Voters of Florida announced they'd filed suit in federal court to overturn the legislation.

"The financial restrictions this law places on the right to vote will have a disproportionate impact on Black and low-income citizens," the group said in a statement announcing the suit. "A citizen's bank account should never be what determines whether they can participate in our democracy."

"It is for that reason that we have filed suit in federal court to overturn this blatant attempt at voter suppression," they continued. 

The League of Women Voters is asking for lawyers to volunteer their time for a seminar it will hold Saturday afternoon to help returning citizens avoid those fines.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.