Civil rights groups went to federal court on Monday morning to challenge Florida’s new restrictive voting law, lambasting state lawmakers for making it harder to vote.
Florida is one of 19 states that enacted new voting restrictions last year, fueled by former President Donald Trump’s stolen election lie. Gov. Rick DeSantis signed Senate Bill 90 into law live on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends,” stating that the bill would protect the “integrity and transparency” of Florida’s elections. But critics, mainly Democrats and voting and civil rights groups, argued that the laws will primarily harm minority voters and suppress turnout after historic numbers in 2020.
Groups including League of Women Voters of Florida, Black Voters Matter Fund, Florida Alliance of Retired Americans, Florida NAACP, and Disability Rights Florida, filed four lawsuits against Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee, a Republican, which were later consolidated into a single suit, which is being tried remotely, over video conference.
The Republican National Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee intervened to help defend the law.
The plaintiffs have challenged six provisions of S.B. 90 including limiting the use of drop boxes, requiring identification to apply for vote-by-mail ballots, adding restrictions on third-party groups who register voters, requiring voters to request mail ballot more frequently, and banning helping voters or providing them with food and water while they waiting in line. They argue that the challenged provisions violate constitutional, voting, and free speech and expression rights, among other legal claims.
“If the Challenged Provisions of SB 90 are allowed to stand, countless eligible Floridians will find it unjustifiably harder to vote,” the plaintiffs wrote in a court filing.
Experts, advocates, election officials, and state legislators are expected to testify.
Cecile Scoon, President of the League of Women Voters of Florida, was the first witness called Monday. She said the new law would hinder potential voters from registering to vote, detailing many years of work helping voters register and participate in the election system.
“This last election season, I was so proud of the state of Florida because we’ve had so many problems, hanging chads and this and that problem, and we finally got it right,” she told the court.
“These additional changes were not needed,” she continued. “It’s just limitations on ways to vote for fear of something happening.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
