Today Project Vote is pleased to join the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida (ACLUFL) in filing a lawsuit in federal court in Miami to block implementation of damaging new changes to Florida’s election law until those changes can be reviewed and examined by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) or the U. S District Court for the District of Columbia, as required by the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The law at issue, HB 1355, would set onerous requirements, unreasonable deadlines, and stiff penalties that would severely hamper the ability of community organizations to conduct voter registration drives. It also prevents voters from changing address or updating their information at the polling place when they vote, which is now permitted, and cuts in half the number of early voting days provided under current law.
In a press release sent today by the ACLU, Project Vote Director of Advocacy Estelle Rogers, co-counsel in the case, said “Voter registration drives have been indispensable in expanding the Florida electorate, particularly to low income people and racial minorities. HB 1355, with its onerous rules and stiff penalties, makes it too risky for most groups—like civic organizations and church groups—to run a drive in Florida, and thousands of eligible voters will be left out as a result.”
HB 1355 was signed by Governor Rick Scott on May 18th, and the following day Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning issued a directive instructing local election officials to immediately implement the changes. However, under the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA), five Florida counties are required to seek “preclearance” of any voting changes, and those counties have not yet asked the Justice Department or the federal court to preclear it.
The suit filed today seeks to block implementation of the law in all 67 Florida Counties unless and until the review process is concluded and the law is precleared. In the press release, Laughlin McDonald, Director of the ACLU Voting Rights Project, explains, “We believe the laws, rules and related cases are clear – Florida cannot implement the new law anywhere in the state until the Justice Department conducts a review or until the DC federal court approves the changes.”
Rogers says, “It’s bad enough that Florida’s legislature passed this bill and the Governor signed it. Now they want to enforce it even before it can legally go into effect. Project Vote believes that the preclearance process must be allowed to work as the law requires, and we are suing to make sure this happens.”
To read the press release, go here
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