Florida Enacts Sweeping Voter Suppression Law
Eliza Sweren-Becker April 30, 2021
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/florida-enacts-sweeping-voter-suppression-law
The law imposes new restrictions on mail voting, makes voter registration more difficult, and modifes rules for observers in ways that could disrupt election administration.
On Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law S.B. 90, an omnibus voter suppression bill that will make it harder for Floridians to vote.SNIP
Florida’s governor and state lawmakers advanced S.B. 90 under the pretext of addressing unfounded and unspecified concerns about election integrity.
The 48-page law makes a slew of changes to Florida elections, including making voter registration more difficult, modifying rules for observers in ways that could disrupt election administration, and restricting the ability to provide snacks and water to voters waiting in line.
Most prominently, it takes aim at mail voting. For example, it requires voters to provide a state ID number or the last four digits of a social security number to obtain a mail ballot, providing no alternative if a voter has neither identification number. And it shortens the time period during which a voter can remain on the state’s vote-by-mail list (which entitles them to receive a mail ballot automatically).
S.B. 90 also makes it harder for voters to access secure ballot drop boxes. It requires drop boxes to be located either at a permanent county voting office or at an early voting location accessible only during early voting hours. Regardless of location, such boxes must be staffed by a county employee — which is likely to further restrict the hours of availability. Local election officials will be subject to a $25,000 fine if they make drop boxes available beyond the strict limits imposed by the bill.
Additionally, S.B. 90 makes it more difficult for voters to receive assistance with the request and return of mail ballots in a number of ways, including by criminalizing any person who possesses two or more mail ballots other than the person’s own ballot and an immediate family member’s. And the law prohibits local and state officials from sending a mail ballot to voters who did not request one.
S.B. 90 also makes it harder for state and local officials to solve problems and protect voters. It prohibits local and state election officials from relying on outside funding for election-related expenses, even during emergencies. Last year, for example, nonpartisan philanthropic grants were essential to election officials’ ability to conduct safe elections during the pandemic. And it also limits the ability of state and county agencies to settle lawsuits related to elections without interference by the legislature and attorney general.SNIP
=========================
https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/florida-voter-suppression-law/
Florida Voter Suppression Law (LWV)
League of Women Voters of Florida v. Lee
Filed: May 6, 2021
Lawsuit brought by the League of Women Voters of Florida, Black Voters Matters Fund, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans and individual voters against all 67 Florida counties challenging voter suppression law Senate Bill 90. The case claims that S.B. 90’s drop box restrictions, mail-in ballot repeat request requirement, volunteer assistance ban, deceptive registration warning and food and water ban violate the First and 14th Amendments. The Republican National Committee (RNC) and National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) intervened in the case. Four cases challenging S.B. 90 were consolidated for discovery and trial, with this case named as the “parent case.” A two-week trial began on Monday, Jan. 31. After the trial, the judge struck down multiple provisions of S.B. 90: the drop box restrictions, line-warming ban and warning requirements for third party voter registration organizations. Florida is also placed under preclearance for the next 10 years and must obtain approval from the court before passing any new laws related to drop boxes, line-warming and voter registration organization activities.
The defendants appealed this decision to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which paused the decision of the district court while the appeal is litigated. This means that the previously-blocked provisions of S.B. 90 are in effect and Florida is no longer under preclearance requirements pending further action by the 11th Circuit. Oral argument is scheduled for Sept. 15, 2022.
(bold type added for emphasis)
=======================
Florida’s new election police unit is the scariest voter suppression effort yet
DeSantis’s law will sniff out problems that don’t exist.
By Fabiola Cineas May 3, 2022, 6:00am EDT
https://www.vox.com/2022/5/3/23048665/florida-election-police-voting-rights
SNIP The election police force also harks back to a time when the United States openly relied on police to keep Black people and other marginalized groups from participating at the polls.
“Once you tell these officers that this is their job, they’re going to look for work, and for those irregularities. It’s scary given the Southern history of using law enforcement to kill, threaten, and prevent people from voting,” said Cecile Scoon, a civil rights lawyer and the president of League of Women Voters of Florida, one of the advocacy groups challenging both SB 90 and SB 524 in court. “And especially for older voters, this is a very unwelcome full-circle return to Jim Crow.”
"“There’s an obvious concern of harassment or intimidation by law enforcement, so some voters may be deterred”"
Though much attention has been paid to Florida’s vision for an election police force, it is not the first state to create an election law enforcement body. Texas’s attorney general established an election integrity unit in 2021 and spent $2.2 million to close just three cases. A new Georgia election overhaul law also empowers the state’s bureau of investigations to look into election violations.
Next, the law increases penalties for actions such as so-called “ballot harvesting” — a person or an organization collecting and submitting multiple ballots — from a first-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, a $5,000 fine, and up to five years of probation. Relatedly, the legislation raises the cap on fines of third-party registration groups — community organizations that help people register to vote — from $1,000 to $50,000. A group could face this penalty if they alter someone’s voter registration application without that person’s knowledge or consent. SNIP
= new reply since forum marked as read
I live in South Alabama. Democrats have NO chance of winning down here unless the right runs a pedophile. I STILL VOTE!!!
