DeSantis signs election overhaul into law; lawsuits follow

A woman submits a completed ballot in this file photo. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law on Thursday overhaling some election procedures. {Stock image]

A woman submits a completed ballot in this file photo. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law on Thursday overhauling some election procedures. {Stock image]

TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed an elections overhaul that was one of the most contentious issues of the 2021 legislative session, as opponents immediately filed two lawsuits alleging that the measure is unconstitutional.

DeSantis, who will be on the ballot in 2022 as he seeks a second term as governor, signed the bill (SB 90) on the Fox News show “Fox & Friends” after an event with supporters in West Palm Beach.

Flanked by Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez and Republican lawmakers, DeSantis during the television appearance called the bill the “strongest election integrity measures in the country” and said it “keeps us ahead of the curve” after Florida had a smooth 2020 election.

“We’re not resting on our laurels, and me signing this bill here says, ‘Florida, your vote counts, your vote is going to be cast with integrity and transparency, and this is a great place for democracy,’” DeSantis said.

But a coalition of opponents, including the League of Women Voters of Florida, Black Voters Matter Fund Inc. and the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Tallahassee, contending that the bill violates First Amendment rights and would place an “undue burden on the right to vote.” The lawsuit named as defendants Secretary of State Laurel Lee, Attorney General Ashley Moody and county supervisors of elections from throughout Florida.

“SB 90 does not impede all of Florida’s voters equally. It is crafted to and will operate to make it more difficult for certain types of voters to participate in the state’s elections, including those voters who generally wish to vote with a vote-by-mail ballot and voters who have historically had to overcome substantial hurdles to reach the ballot box, such as Florida’s senior voters, youngest voters and minority voters,” the lawsuit said.

Separately, the Florida State Conference of the NAACP, Disability Rights Florida and Common Cause filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the bill is unconstitutional and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“The 2021 voter suppression law is just the latest in a long line of voter suppression laws targeting Florida’s Black voters, Latino voters, and voters with disabilities.” said the lawsuit, which was filed in Tallahassee and named Lee as the defendant. “For far too long, Florida’s lawmakers and elected officials have created a vast array of hurdles that have made it more difficult for these and other voters to make their voices heard.”

DeSantis and GOP lawmakers argued that the bill, which addresses issues such as voting by mail, is needed to ensure secure elections. But Democrats and many voting-rights groups said the bill would suppress voting after a November election in which Democrats far outdistanced Republicans in voting by mail amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Florida bill addresses a series of issues, including the use of drop boxes for mail-in ballots. Drop boxes became a flashpoint last year, as elections officials wrangled with DeSantis’ administration over the location of the boxes and whether they needed to be manned at all times.

The bill will allow supervisors to use drop boxes at early voting sites and “permanent” branch offices, so long as the boxes are staffed by their employees. Among other changes, the bill will require voters to request mail-in ballots more frequently than in the past.

Also, DeSantis said the bill addresses issues such as preventing ballot “harvesting,” which involves people and groups being able to collect and deliver ballots for voters.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the only statewide elected Democrat, criticized the bill this week, saying it would disenfranchise voters.

“They came for your voting rights with SB 90, limiting mail ballots and drop boxes which proved essential during a global pandemic,” Fried said.

Even before DeSantis signed the bill, some opponents were threatening to challenge the changes in court. The League of United Latin American Citizens sent out a news release early Thursday saying it plans to file a lawsuit against the state.

“These changes are deliberately designed to affect mostly people of color and are being enacted at the direction of Gov. Ron DeSantis,” Domingo Garcia, national president of the group known as LULAC, said in a prepared statement. “Voter suppression aimed at American citizens just because they are brown or black is disgraceful, un-American, and frankly unprincipled.”

– News Service Assignment Manager Tom Urban contributed to this report.