Voting Rights Affirmed in Florida

Dual actions by federal judge and Department of Justice highlight illegal effort by Scott Administration and Florida Legislature to restrict voting in Florida

WASHINGTON – On the heels of the voting rights announcements yesterday, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-20) released the following statement:

“A thriving democracy depends on the ability of voters to cast their ballots and have their votes count. Recently, we’ve seen reckless attempts in Florida by the Scott Administration and Republicans in the Florida Legislature to create barriers to voting by mandating strict time limits and threatening hefty fines on third-party registration groups for not meeting those deadlines, and purging legal Florida residents from the voter rolls.

“Fortunately, yesterday the power of justice prevailed and a federal judge ruled that the state cannot require groups to submit registration forms within 48 hours or face $1,000 fines. By striking down this law, groups that help millions of Americans register through voter registration drives, like the non-partisan League of Women Voters, will now have 10 days to submit voter forms, as they did before the law was changed. 

“This welcome news came on the same day of another victory in the fight to protect voting rights for all Americans – the Department of Justice ordered Florida to cease its purge of certain voters from the voter rolls so close to a federal election. This was another attempt at voter suppression, unfairly targeting seniors, minorities, and young people. With many important federal and state elections later this year, we must do our part to ensure that every eligible Floridian has the ability to register to vote and cast a ballot.

“The ruling by the federal court and action by the Department of Justice highlights the illegality of efforts by the Scott Administration and Republicans in the Florida Legislature to restrict voting in Florida.”