A far-left legal nonprofit has filed the latest lawsuit against the state of Florida over its new election law.
“The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the groups HeadCount and the Harriet Tubman Freedom Fighters Corp., is the fourth challenge to the law, which was passed in April by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed in May by Gov. Ron DeSantis,” Orlando Weekly reported.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), based in Alabama, is the ringleader of the new lawsuit.
The SPLC is challenging a provision in the new election integrity law, SB 90, that mandates that voter registration groups must inform those who register to vote of the possibility that their voter registration will not be delivered to elections officials before voter registration deadlines.
The mandatory disclaimer serves no legitimate governmental function or purpose, as there is no evidence that Floridians have been confused about the nature of community-based voter registration activity,” the SPLC said, calling it a violation of the First Amendment.
Most of the new law is centered around absentee ballots and ballot drop boxes. For example, it requires those who wish to vote absentee to apply for an absentee ballot during each election cycle. It also requires some drop boxes to be monitored by elections officials.
The NAACP and the League of Women Voters have also filed suit against the state over SB 90.
The NAACP says the law is racist.
“S.B. 90 represents a direct and swift backlash to Black voters’ historic turnout during the 2020 election season,” Zachery Morris, Assistant Counsel to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said at the time the suit was filed.
“The law’s suppressive and discriminatory provisions make it clear that the Florida Legislature’s goal is to erect additional hurdles to inhibit Florida voters, especially disabled voters, Black voters, and Latino voters, from accessing the ballot box,” he continued. “These efforts are shameful and they are not new. We cannot allow elected officials to suppress votes under the guise of election integrity.”
Several Republican-led states, perhaps most notably the 2020 battleground state of Georgia, have implemented new election integrity measures. Georgia has been the subject of boycotts over its legislation.
This week, The Georgia Star News confirmed with Fulton County election officials that legally-mandated chain-of-custody documents for ballots left in drop boxes have not been produced.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “People Voting” by Wyofile Wyofile. CC BY 2.0.
