Contact: ACLU of Florida Media Office, (786) 363-2737 or media@aclufl.org August 25, 2011
MIAMI – The American Civil Liberties Union, together with Project Vote, today filed a Motion to Intervene in the United States District Court’s review of the Voter Suppression Act (formerly House Bill 1355) which, if approved, will make it harder for Floridians to register to vote, harder to vote and harder to have that vote counted.
Governor Rick Scott and Secretary of State Kurt Browning withdrew the most discriminatory and regressive portions of the Voter Suppression Act from review by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Voting Rights Act. With just days remaining before a decision deadline, the state chose instead to initiate a legal review of the provisions by the US District Court in the District of Columbia – a process which will take longer, cost more and continue the confusion, uncertainty and lack of uniformity of Florida’s voting laws.
“We’ve strongly objected to these voter suppression schemes from the beginning,” said Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida. “After the state’s latest round of legal hide-and-seek, we’re asking the court to allow us to join the case on behalf of impacted Floridians who will see the right to cast their vote rolled back by these regressive and unnecessary changes to Florida’s voting laws.”
The four provisions of the Voter Suppression Act subject to review by the Court are:
Limiting access to early voting by decreasing the number of early voting days including a new outright ban on early voting the Sunday before an election
A new requirement that voters changing their address between counties on Election Day must use provisional ballots which are easier to challenge and only counted about half the time
Strict new rules on “third party” voter registration groups including fines, registration requirements and time limits on non-partisan civic groups conducting voter registration efforts
Restricting access to amending the Constitution by cutting by 50% the time a citizen’s signature is considered valid on an initiative petition
As the DOJ would have done, the District Court will determine whether the voter suppression provisions are allowed under the Voting Rights Act which protects racial and language minority voters in five Florida Counties (Hillsborough, Collier, Monroe, Hendry and Hardy) known as covered jurisdictions.
By taking the issue to the District Court, the State of Florida has named the United States and Attorney General Eric Holder as defendants. The ACLU and Project Vote are asking the Court to join a group of racial and language minority voters in the covered jurisdictions as well as Project Vote and its affiliate Voting for America as additional defendants. The parties in the request include State Senator Arthenia Joyner, State Representative Janet Cruz, Monroe County Supervisor of Elections Harry Sawyer, Leon County Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho, Project Vote and Voting for America.
“Project Vote and Voting for America are dedicated to bringing voter registration opportunities to minority communities,” added Estelle Rogers, Director of Advocacy for Project Vote. “We are uniquely positioned to tell the court just how damaging this law will be to those efforts.”
The ACLU and Project Vote have a pending request in the United States District Court in Miami for an injunction to block implementation of the new law until it is approved under the Voting Rights Act. The ACLU and Project Vote sought the injunction because the Secretary of State has maintained that the voter suppression provisions of the new law are already in effect in the non-covered jurisdictions (62 of Florida’s 67 Counties) – effectively creating two sets of election laws.
“The Governor and Secretary of State have created a new, confusing and bizarre web of laws for Florida with one set of rules if you live in Pinellas County and a different set if you live on the other side of the bridge in Hillsborough, for example.” Simon said. “It’s bizarre that our state’s highest officials not only find this acceptable but are willing to spend more money to keep it in place longer. It’s almost as if they want voters to be confused and not vote.”
Like the DOJ, the District Court may only review the submitted provisions for their compliance with the federal Voting Rights Act – not their merits overall. The DOJ already approved many of the uncontested provisions of the Voter Suppression Act as not violating the Voting Rights Act. Any appeal of the findings by the District Court may be appealed directly to the Supreme Court of the United States.
“The costly legal course the Governor and Secretary of State have chosen proves without question that they will do anything – spend anything – to stack the deck in upcoming elections,” Simon said.
A copy of the motion to intervene is available here:
http://www.aclufl.org/pdfs/2011-08-25-ACLUMotiontoInterveneFLHolder.pdf
A copy of the documents submitted for filing today is here:
http://www.aclufl.org/pdfs/2011-08-25-ACLUInterventionSupportMemo.pdf
http://www.aclufl.org/pdfs/2011-08-25-ACLUProposedAnswer.pdf
http://www.aclufl.org/pdfs/2011-08-25-ACLUProposedInterventionOrder.pdf
Statements from Potential Intervening Defendants:
Statement from Monroe County Supervisor of Elections, Harry Sawyer:
“Several of the election changes adopted by the Legislature will limit voter turnout and threaten the right of voters, including African-Americans in Monroe County and other ethnic and language minority voters.
“Monroe County has 5 early voting sites, one of which is in an African-American neighborhood. In the 2008 general election, 27 percent of Keys voters voted early, and nearly 8 percent of Keys registered voters voted early in the November 2010 general election. Limiting early voting options is a dangerous path which will only make it more difficult to vote.
“If this law is approved and people moving to Monroe are required to use a provisional ballot, it has the potential to disenfranchise many voters in our community.”
Statement from Representative Janet Cruz (Tampa):
“Florida’s effort to suppress the vote for 2012 and beyond needs this complete review and we hope that the federal court will see what we see – that the provisions under review hurt racial and language minorities in Hillsborough County and across Florida.”
Statement from Leon County Supervisor of Elections, Ion Sancho:
”The new voting legislation passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor is a thinly veiled effort to deny legitimate voters their right to vote. Restrictions to early voting, requiring more voters to vote by provisional ballots, and shutting down 3rd party voter registration drives will have a retrogressive impact on all of Florida’s voters without providing any benefit whatsoever – including reducing fraudulent voting.”
Statement from Senator Arthenia Joyner (Tampa):
“In six weeks this ill law was conceived, drafted behind closed doors, jammed through the Legislature, signed by the Governor and is being rushed to a speedy and illegal implementation. Floridians are entitled, by law, to have these changes reviewed before they are used to deny people the right to vote.”
Statement from Former Senator Helen Gordon Davis (Tampa):
“Public officials should be encouraging voting and making voting more accessible. I am proud to be part of this lawsuit that challenges the actions of the Governor and the Legislature that make voting more difficult, particularly for working people and minorities in our community, when they should be doing the exact opposite.”
Statement from Reverend and former Tampa City Councilman, Thomas Scott:
“The new, outright ban on early voting the Sunday before Election Day is an obvious attempt to shut down ‘Souls to the Polls,’ the effective, church-based voter mobilization efforts in African-American communities across Florida. This Voter Suppression Law will do exactly that – keep legal, qualified voters away from the ballot box.”
About the ACLU of Florida: The ACLU of Florida is freedom's watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislature and throughout Florida to defend individual rights and personal freedoms guaranteed by the United States and Florida Constitutions and the Bill of Rights. For additional information, visit our web site at: www.aclufl.org
About Project Vote: Project Vote is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes voting in historically underrepresented communities. Project Vote takes a leadership role in nationwide voting rights and election administration issues, working through research, legal services, and advocacy to ensure that our constituencies are not prevented from registering and voting. For additional information, visit www.projectvote.org
