Support NorthStar News - Make a Donation

video icon  Video of the Week

21st African Union Summit

Search Past Issues

June 7, 2012

Judge Grants Injunction for Florida Voter-Registration Barriers

A  U.S. District Court judge has temporarily blocked implementation of a Republican-backed Florida law that severely restricted voter registration drives affecting African-American voters.

In League of Women Voters of Florida et al. vs Kurt S. Browning, U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Hinkle on Thursday, May 31, ruled impractical parts of a 2011 election-law rewrite, requiring third-party voter-registration groups to turn in completed forms within 48 hours of signing up a new voter or face fines of up to $1,000.

“The statute and rule impose a harsh and impractical 48-hour deadline for an organization to deliver applications to a voter registration office and effectively prohibit an organization from mailing applications in,” Hinkle wrote in a 27-page decision granting the League of Women Voters a preliminary injunction. “And the statute and rule impose burdensome record-keeping and reporting requirements that serve little if any purpose, thus rendering them unconstitutional.”

Allowing responsible organizations to conduct voter-registration drives, making it easier for citizens to register promotes democracy, Hinkle added.

After the law's enactment, the League of Women Voters halted voter-registration drives, fearing volunteers would face fines. The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School reported that African Americans and Hispanics are more than twice as likely to register to vote through the drives as white voters are.

Hinkle, however, ruled as constitutional parts of the law that reduced the number of early voting days and allowed voters to change their name or registration at their polling places. Florida eliminated early voting on the Sunday before Election Day, which the Brennan Center said was specially targeted to black voters who vote after church services.

Wendy Weiser, director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School, liked Hinkle's decision.

“Today's decision makes it clear that laws that make it harder to participate in the political process should be rejected,” said Weiser, who also is co-author of the report, “Voting Law Changes in 2012.”  The booklet analyzes the 20 laws passed and two executive actions taken in 15 states in 2011 that affected voting rights of African Americans, the poor, the young and the elderly.

The Northstar News & Analysis, Inc.
Chicago, IL | 312.504.0223
Copyright © The Northstar News & Analysis, Inc.
Contact Us: info@TheNorthstarNews.com
Privacy Policy

My statusContact Us on Skype