Florida Exact Match Voter Registration Challenge

Lawsuit filed by Florida Rise Together (FRT) against Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd (R), Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) and election officials in four counties challenging the state’s exact match policy, which requires certain identifying information on a voter’s registration application to exactly match information in a state or federal database. The plaintiff alleges that this policy has led many voters’ registrations to be rejected due to minor typos or misread handwritten answers. The plaintiff argues that this policy unfairly burdens the right to vote in violation of the First and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution. It also argues that this requirement has been used to reject Black voters’ registration applications at a much higher rate than other voters in violation of Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Both of these federal laws prohibit unfair and discriminatory practices in the voter registration process. FRT asks the court to strike down the exact match policy as unconstitutional and in violation of federal law and block Florida election officials from continuing to enforce it. 

STATUS: FRT filed its complaint on Sept. 17, 2024. Florida has not responded yet.

Last updated: September 17, 2024 2:55 pm EST