The state of Florida has proposed things like an “election task force” and a redistricting plan that would favor Gov. Ron Desantis and his re-election bid for the 2022 midterms. Senate Bill 90, a law passed by the Florida legislature among party lines last year, might be the one to keep an eye on.
The law limits who can collect and drop off voters’ ballots at drop boxes and requires someone to monitor drop boxes when they are open. Many voters of color rely on dropping off their ballots after hours because they usually work jobs that won’t allow them time to do this during the day. Remember that Florida touted their election practices were the gold standard for the 2020 election.
According to Politico, voting and civil rights groups argued during the start of a federal trial that the new law discriminates against minorities, people with disabilities, and older voters in a lawsuit filed last year.
From Politico:
Officials who work for some of the groups suing the state testified Monday that the new restrictions were dissuading people from registering to vote. They were sharply critical of a new requirement that potential voters must be told by third-party groups that there’s a chance their voter registration application may not be delivered within a newly required 14-day deadline. But the groups themselves are subject to fines if they fail to meet that deadline.“It’s confusing,” said Rosemary McCoy, president of the Harriet Tubman Freedom Fighters, an organization based in Duval County. “Why are we telling the public something that is not true?”
The groups filing the four lawsuits against Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee include the League of Women Voters of Florida, the Black Voters Matter Fund, the Florida Alliance of Retired Americans, the Florida NAACP, and Disability Rights Florida. Cecile Scoon, the League of Women Voters of Florida president, believes the new law will deter people from registering to vote. There are specific targets that the coalition is going after concerning Senate Bill 90, as noted by NBC News:
The plaintiffs have challenged six provisions of S.B. 90, including its limits on the use of drop boxes, its requiring identification to apply for vote-by-mail ballots, its restrictions on third-party groups that register voters, its requiring voters to request mail ballots more frequently and its ban on helping voters or providing them with food and water as they wait in line. They argue that the challenged provisions violate constitutional, voting and free speech and expression rights, among other legal claims.