The League of Women Voters of Florida and Democracia USA, on Monday filed a motion to intervene in the State of Florida’s lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) over the state’s new elections law. The state withdrew the four most contentious sections of the law from the DOJ’s review last month and a federal court must now decide whether or not to “preclear” the law under the National Viting Rights Act of 1965.
Amongst the four sections removed from the DOJ’s review are: a reduction in the number of early voting days; a provision barring voters from changing their addresses at polling stations on election day; new rules undermining the ability of groups to register voters; and new standards for citizen-initiative petitions.
Because of a history of racial discrimination, five Florida counties must obtain “pre-clearance” and approval from the DOJ or federal district court for all changes affecting elections.
The League has advocated against preclearance, arguing that Florida’s new law will reduce opportunities for voting and unlawfully restrict voter registration, disproportionately affecting Florida’s minority population.
According to League President Deirdre Macnab, “when the state of Florida decided to submit sections of HB 1355 to a federal court in Washington, D.C. for review, we were determined to have the League’s concerns heard. We want to ensure that the court hears evidence that this law, if precleared, will have a very real and harmful impact on Florida’s voters and, in particular, its minority voters.”
The Brennan Center for Justice in New York, a non-partisan public policy and law institute, one of several groups representing the League, has said, these particular provisions in Florida’s new election law would negatively impact a wide range of voters, particularly the state’s vulnerable — Americans, Latinos, students, members of the military and less affluent, who rent rather than own their homes.
