New restrictions on voter registration groups in Florida are expected to take effect this weekend after a federal judge declined to issue a ruling this week on whether or not to temporarily block them.
“I will do my best to get out an order, but it’s not an order I’m going to be able to issue in forty-eight hours,” Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker told attorneys in the case.
Several voter registration groups and some of their employees are challenging provisions of the state's new elections law - SB 7050 - that they say violate their 1st and 14th Amendment rights. Their lawsuit, Hispanic Federation v. Byrd, centers on a provision in the new law that prohibits anyone who’s not a U.S. citizen from “handling” or “collecting” voter registration forms.
Voter registration groups are often nonpartisan advocacy groups, churches, social clubs and other nonprofits that help register eligible voters who might not otherwise cast a ballot. Florida has nearly 2,000 active voter registration groups listed with the state Division of Elections.
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