In May, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 7050, a package of Republican-sponsored reforms to Florida’s election system, including a ban on non-citizen immigrants helping register voters. Groups that retained certain voter registration information, such as for get-out-the-vote operations, could under the law also face felony prosecution.
In a blistering decision, US Judge Mark Walker of the Northern District of Florida, agreed with plaintiffs that such provisions are likely illegal.
“Florida may, of course, regulate elections, including the voter registration process,” Walker, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, wrote in the 58-page ruling. “Here, however, the challenged provisions exemplify something Florida has struggled within recent years; namely, governing within the bounds set by the United States Constitution.”
The Florida chapter of the NAACP, one of the groups that sued over the law, had argued that the ban on retaining any voter information violated the First Amendment right to free speech by preventing them from sharing a “pro-voting message.”
Critics also argued that the limit on non-citizen participation on registration drives violated the right to equal protection under federal law.
A spokesperson for Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd, named as a defendant in the case, declined to comment.
Walker, in his ruling, noted that the decision is not final. But he nonetheless framed the ruling in grand, patriotic terms, noting it came a day before the country recognizes its independence.
In particular, he highlighted one plaintiff, Veronica Herrera-Lucha, an immigrant from El Salvador who has permanent residency in the US and works as the the Florida field director for a voter registration group, Mi Vecino.
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