facto make nearly all felons eligible to vote, as the Tampa Bay Times found most felons are appointed attorneys and nearly all have their court fees and fines converted to liens. Hinkle acknowledged the "overwhelming majority" of felons would be found unable to pay under these categories. He also ordered the state to make the related changes to the state voter registration form and create a process in which felons could formally request an advisory opinion on how much they owe, and election officials would have to respond within three weeks or the felon would be allowed to register to vote by default. In the case of a loss on the constitutional claims, the state had made two main secondary arguments at trial. The state argued that if the ballot initiative's language requiring all felons to complete their sentences was unconstitutional in part or in whole, the entire amendment needed to be struck down, as it was nonseverable. Hinkle ruled against the state on the issue of severability and stated that his order was a justifiable exercise of the courts discretion to provide relief. Hinkle rejected the state's argument that the amendment would need to be thrown out, as the ruling would radically redefine what voters thought they were approving in 2018, with nearly all felons eligible without paying fines/fees/restitution, ruling that he believes Florida voters would have "adhered to a generous spirit that led to passage of the amendment" and pointed to the fact that only some of the promotional material for the amendment explicitly mentioned fines and restitution. On September 11, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit overturned the lower court ruling. It states that the requirement for felons to pay fines did not violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and so they could not vote unless they had paid the fees and fines. See also Felon disenfranchisement in Florida References External links Amendment text and history at Florida Department of State Amendment 4 (2018) at Ballotpedia Amendment 4 2018 ballot measures Florida ballot measures History of voting rights in the United States Right of felons to vote Criminal penalty ballot measures in the United States