Federal Judge Declines to Block Certain Provisions of Florida Voter Suppression Law, Other Provisions Remain Enjoined
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday, July 11, a federal judge declined to temporarily block two provisions of Florida’s recently enacted voter suppression law, Senate Bill 7050, which was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in late May.
This ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters of Florida, which challenges S.B. 7050’s burdensome restrictions on third-party voter registration organizations (3PVROs), arguing that they violate the U.S. Constitution.
As a result of yesterday’s order issued by Chief Judge Mark E. Walker of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, two challenged provisions S.B. 7050 will remain in place as litigation over S.B. 7050 continues. These include:
- a provision that prohibits individuals with certain felony convictions from handling voter registration applications and
- a provision that requires 3PVROs’ members to provide a receipt to each voter registration applicant containing identifying information (including the 3PVRO member’s full name).
In the order, Walker concluded that the plaintiffs “failed to demonstrate a substantial likelihood of success at establishing standing to challenge” these two provisions “for purposes of a preliminary injunction.”
Just last week, however, in a victory for Florida voters, Walker blocked two other provisions of S.B. 7050 in a separate pair of lawsuits, one brought by the Florida State Conference of Branches and Youth Units of the NAACP and the other filed by the Hispanic Federation. One of the blocked provisions bars noncitizen volunteers from conducting voter registration activities on behalf of 3PVROs. The other blocked provision criminalizes routine retention of voter information for any purpose except voter registration, thus making it a felony to maintain voter information for other activities such as get-out-the-vote efforts.
In last week’s order blocking the citizenship requirement and voter information retention ban, Walker emphatically wrote that “[t]his case arises from Florida’s latest assault on the right to vote.” Just yesterday, the Florida secretary of state and attorney general appealed this pro-voting ruling to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of appeals. As of now, these two provisions of S.B. 7050 remain blocked.