To a naive observer — or to lawyers who may know too much for their own good — the Florida Supreme Court’s decision this week denying voting rights to formerly incarcerated people was a perfectly reasonable exercise of judicial interpretation. Yes, the people of Florida voted in November 2018 to re-enfranchise “returning citizens.” But the constitutional amendment 65 percent of Floridians supported was simply too “ambiguous.”

The measure promised to restore the franchise to people with felony convictions “after they complete all terms of their sentence.” Asked by Republican governor Ron DeSantis what this could possibly mean, the state’s Supreme Court relied on such authorities as Antonin Scalia, the American Heritage Dictionary, and “common sense” to conclude that the people of Florida clearly intended to deny the vote to those who have been released from prison, but who can’t afford to pay fines, restitution payments, fees, and court costs.

In other words, Florida Republicans had a perfectly conventional justification for what they were up to — until DeSantis let the mask slip. Declaring victory on Twitter after the court published its decision, he gloated: “Voting is a privilege that should not be taken lightly.” If any confirmation was needed as to what DeSantis and his allies were up to, this was it: wielding the judiciary, along with the carceral state and its various offshoots, to criminalize poverty and formalize minority GOP rule in Florida and many other states as well.