Florida Legislature Passes Voter Suppression Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Florida became the latest state to pass sweeping voter restrictions late Thursday night when the Republican-controlled Legislature passed Senate Bill 90. The bill would limit the use of ballot drop boxes to only during early voting hours, shorten the length of time that absentee ballot requests would be honored and ban the distribution of food or water to voters in line by anyone except poll workers — a provision straight from Georgia’s voter suppression law Senate Bill 202.
The bill would deliver Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ promise to severely restrict access to the ballot after former President Donald Trump’s loss in 2020. S.B. 90 would add additional and unnecessary burdens to voting and could potentially disenfranchise thousands of eligible voters in the state. The bill is now headed to DeSantis’ desk and he is expected to sign the bill into law. Many voting rights groups and Florida activists have already spoken out strongly against the bill, promising to bring litigation as soon as it is enacted.