I'd like to post this under a thread that say "I told ya so!", but this will have to do.
A federal judge barred Florida from enforcing the bulk of its new restrictive voting law on Thursday, siding with opponents who said the law was discriminatory and needlessly infringed on Floridians' voting rights.
The ruling, which will likely be appealed, is the first major invalidation of a spate of restrictive new election laws passed in Republican-controlled states last year, fueled by voter fraud anxieties and President Donald Trump’s stolen election lie.
The Florida law, known as Senate Bill 90, added new restrictions on drop boxes, third-party voter registration, mail voting, and "line warming" activities like giving voters food and water while they wait in line to cast a ballot. It was challenged last May in federal court by voting rights advocates lead by the League of Women Voters of Florida.
In a stinging 288-page ruling, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mark Walker declared the bulk of the state’s new voting rules unconstitutional and issued a permanent injunction barring their enforcement.
The plaintiffs “allege that SB 90 runs roughshod over the right to vote, unnecessarily making voting harder for all eligible Floridians, unduly burdening disabled voters, and intentionally targeting minority voters — all to improve the electoral prospects of the party in power,” Walker, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, wrote. “Having reviewed all the evidence, this Court finds that, for the most part, Plaintiffs are right.”
Walker writes in his ruling that certain provisions of the law intentionally discriminated against Black voters — though he notes the plaintiffs were not able to prove intentional discrimination against Latino voters — and says that the law fundamentally was designed with partisan aims.
Federal judge blocks Florida restrictive voting law
A federal judge barred Florida from enforcing the bulk of its new restrictive voting law on Thursday, siding with opponents who said the law was discriminatory and needlessly infringed on Floridians' voting rights.
The ruling, which will likely be appealed, is the first major invalidation of a spate of restrictive new election laws passed in Republican-controlled states last year, fueled by voter fraud anxieties and President Donald Trump’s stolen election lie.
The Florida law, known as Senate Bill 90, added new restrictions on drop boxes, third-party voter registration, mail voting, and "line warming" activities like giving voters food and water while they wait in line to cast a ballot. It was challenged last May in federal court by voting rights advocates lead by the League of Women Voters of Florida.
In a stinging 288-page ruling, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mark Walker declared the bulk of the state’s new voting rules unconstitutional and issued a permanent injunction barring their enforcement.
The plaintiffs “allege that SB 90 runs roughshod over the right to vote, unnecessarily making voting harder for all eligible Floridians, unduly burdening disabled voters, and intentionally targeting minority voters — all to improve the electoral prospects of the party in power,” Walker, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, wrote. “Having reviewed all the evidence, this Court finds that, for the most part, Plaintiffs are right.”
Walker writes in his ruling that certain provisions of the law intentionally discriminated against Black voters — though he notes the plaintiffs were not able to prove intentional discrimination against Latino voters — and says that the law fundamentally was designed with partisan aims.
Federal judge blocks Florida restrictive voting law
