Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has asked the FBI to investigate Mike Bloomberg’s pledge to spend $16 million to help convicted felons regain their right to vote.
The former New York mayor’s donation to the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition comes just weeks after NBA star LeBron James pledged $100,000 to the same organization.
“After preliminarily reviewing this limited public information and law, it appears further investigation is warranted,” Moody, a Republican, wrote in a letter to Michael McPherson, the FBI special agent in charge of the bureau’s Tampa office, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Richard Swearingen.
“Accordingly, I request that your agencies further investigate the matter,” she continued, “and take appropriate steps as merited.”
Read More: Bloomberg raises $16 million to help ex-felons to vote in Florida
In 2018, Florida voted overwhelmingly to restore the voting rights of people who had been convicted of a felony crime, excluding murder and sexual crimes. However, the state’s Republican legislature argued that the end of the lifetime ban on voting for ex-felons should only be lifted if they paid any fines and restitution owed to the state.
The average debt of the more than 775,000 former felons is $1,000.
Read More: LeBron James to donate $100K to help ex-felons vote in Florida
After a fierce court battle, the 11th Circuit Court upheld the state’s decision earlier this month.
Desmond Meade, the executive director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, said that their organization is non-partisan.
“We are fighting just as hard for that person who wished he could have voted for Donald Trump as that person who wished they could have voted for Barack Obama,” Meade said. He described Bloomberg as “one of over 44,000 people that had donated to help these people resolve their legal financial obligations.”
A spokesperson for Bloomberg said the investigation is “a transparent political ploy is just the latest example of Republicans attempting to keep Floridians disenfranchised.”
Bloomberg, a billionaire and former Democratic presidential candidate, has pledged to spend $100 million to help Joe Biden defeat President Trump in the Sunshine State.
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