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ATLANTA (AP) — A battle over voting rights in the battleground state of Florida is before a federal appeals court.
A three-judge panel at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta heard arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit that challenges Florida's process for restoring voting rights to former prisoners.
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker had ruled that the state's system is unconstitutional, with decisions possibly swayed by politics and racial factors. Walker ordered changes, but that decision was blocked by the appeals court in April.
As many as 1.5 million felons remain disenfranchised by the ban, which is in Florida's constitution.
Walker's ruling kept the ban intact, but he challenged the current system that requires a former prisoner to wait between five and seven years before they can request their voting rights be restored.
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