DeSantis fires back, “In front of certain district judges, we know we will lose no matter what because they are not going to follow the …
DeSantis fires back, “In front of certain district judges, we know we will lose no matter what because they are not going to follow the law…. It’s just a matter of how quickly it’s going to get reversed.” Siding with the League of Women Voters, which had sued the Florida Secretary of State, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Republican National Committee, a Florida federal judge nominated by former President Barack Obama in 2012 ruled Thursday that some of the state’s new election laws are unconstitutional and implied they are racially motivated. He also ruled that for the next ten years, his court “retains jurisdiction” and the state may “enact no law or regulation governing 3PVROs, drop boxes, or ‘line warming’ activities, as those terms are defined in this Order, without submitting such law or regulation for preclearance.” Judge Mark E. Walker of Federal District Court in Tallahassee, who stated that those who argue that we live in a post-racial society are wrong, began his ruling by stating portentously, “This case is about our sacred right to vote—won at great cost in blood and treasure.” Walker’s decision means that state and local officials may not enforce, according to the Tampa Bay Times: A provision that limited the use of ballot drop boxes to early voting hours, unless they’re in a supervisor’s office, and required the boxes to be manned at all times; A requirement that third-party groups issue a warning when trying to register voters, including telling voters that their registration application might not be turned in before the voter registration deadline or within the required 14 days. A provision that changed the rules around the “no-solicitation zone” around a polling site to prohibit “any activity with the intent to influence or effect of influencing a voter.” Walker summed up the arguments from both sides, concluding the “plaintiffs are right”: Defendants argue that SB 90 makes minor prophylactic changes to the election code.
