FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump addresses a campaign rally in Dalton, Georgia, U.S., on the eve of the run-off election to decide both of Georgia's Senate seats January 4, 2021. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When a U.S. appeals court declared that Florida could make it harder for convicted felons to vote - a ruling decried by civil rights activists - the impact of President Donald Trump's conservative judicial appointments was plain to see.
The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was divided 6-4 in the September ruling, with five Trump appointees in the majority. It reversed a decision by a federal judge who found that the Republican-governed state's effort to require felons after their sentences are completed to pay fines, restitution and legal fees before they could cast ballots violated their voting rights under the U.S. Constitution.
