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Democracy scored a split decision in Florida yesterday (5/31) when US District Judge Robert L. Hinkle granted a preliminary injunction against key parts of Florida’s HB 1355 law, a law passed last year that curtailed voter registration activities so much that civic organizations such as League of Women Voters and Rock the Vote suspended registration operations. Thanks to Hinkle’s ruling, the mandate that all third-party registration organizations hand over voter registration applications to county election supervisors within 48 hours of completion has been lifted.
Another victory came the same day when the Department of Justice intervened in the great Florida voter purging controversy, which involved “a new initiative” by the Secretary of State of compiling a list of people the office suspects are “non-citizens” who might attempt to vote. DOJ said yesterday that the state must submit that initiative to them for approval as it may discriminate against voters based on race, ethnicity or those who don’t speak English. DOJ also told Florida that their initiative might violate the National Voting Rights Act, which prohibits changes in voting practices within 90 days of an election.
The Advancement Project sent a letter to DOJ last week urging that they immediately take steps to stop the purges. “We commend the attorney general of the United States Eric Holder for ensuring that the right to vote, the fundamental pillar of our democracy is protected for all American citizens,” stated Advancement Project Co-director Penda Hair.
Added co-director Judith Browne Dianis, “We know Florida’s shameful record of purging minorities off of the voter rolls as they did in 2000 and 2004 with flawed lists of people convicted of felonies that disenfranchised tens of thousands of mostly African American registered and eligible voters. It is essential for the integrity of our elections process that we stop the disenfranchisement from occurring again and not allow the state of Florida to stand in the way of legitimate voters trying to exercise their basic democratic rights.”
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