Florida groups claim ‘unconstitutional poll tax’ in new mail ballot lawsuit
Three organizations are suing Florida over vote-by-mail requirements they claim limit people’s right to vote during the coronavirus pandemic, amid ongoing efforts from left-leaning groups to change mail voting in the state.
Citing concerns of COVID-19 exposure during in-person voting, the groups — Priorities USA, Alianza for Progress and Florida Alliance for Retired Americans — filed suit Monday in federal court in Tallahassee, alleging in part that the postage required for a mail ballot in Florida amounts to “an unconstitutional poll tax,” and that a ban on voter assistance violates the Voting Rights Act.
The suit comes during a growing legal push from voting rights organizations to change the way Florida, a major swing state, will conduct vote-by-mail elections during the Aug. 18 primary and the Nov. 3 general election.
“For decades, Florida has been ground zero for election mishaps ... While 2020 is certainly an unprecedented year, it does not have to be the next year on the long list of Florida’s election debacles,” the lawsuit says. The organizations directly name Gov. Ron DeSantis, Secretary of State Laurel Lee, Attorney General Ashley Moody, the Florida Elections Canvassing Commission and the 67 Florida supervisors of elections.
Among the claims in the suit, the groups say that Florida’s deadline for getting mail ballots to elections supervisors — 7 p.m. on Election Day — should be changed to allow any ballots postmarked by Election Day to count. The groups also say the state’s voter assistance ban imposes unreasonable restrictions on speech and the right of association.
A spokesperson for the Florida Secretary of State did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
As other states sought to delay theirs, Florida’s presidential preference primary went forward on March 17, a decision that was criticized by some left-leaning groups in the state. Last month, organizations that hold “Get Out The Vote” drives argued in a different lawsuit that voters who feared exposure from the new coronavirus did not get a chance to vote. The groups also asked a federal judge to extend mailing deadlines, which they said kept some late ballots from being rightfully counted in the March election.
Similarly, Florida’s supervisors of elections have asked DeSantis to clarify whether any changes in rules will apply to the fall elections, so counties can plan for an increase in mail ballot applications and adapt to changes to the election process.
Meanwhile, Emma Vaughn, a spokeswoman for the Trump Victory campaign in Florida, said the lawsuit was part of an attempt from Democrats to “resdesign our entire election system” and would “weaken confidence in our election.”
Priorities USA, one of the group’s in the latest suit, is the country’s largest Democratic Super PAC. It claims in the lawsuit that the state’s current vote-by-mail requirements will shift its work and funding away from regular campaigns and into educating communities on how to make sure their ballots are counted according to Florida requirements.
“In 2020, Priorities expects to make millions of dollars of contributions and expenditures to educate, mobilize, and turn out voters in state and federal elections around the country, including thousands of dollars to educate, mobilize, and turn out voters in Florida elections,” the lawsuit says. The requirements “directly harm Priorities because they burden and disenfranchise the very voters Priorities supports through its work and contributions in Florida.”
Alianza for Progress is a nonprofit that supports civic engagement among Hispanics in Central Florida, particularly the burgeoning population of recently relocated Puerto Ricans. The group claims the communities it serves would be disproportionately impacted if no changes are made.
“Among Alianza’s members and members of its voting constituencies are voters unaccustomed to using USPS on a regular basis, such as newly eligible young voters, recent citizen migrants, and economically challenged voters, who if faced with having to determine, acquire, or pay for required postage may well be disenfranchised by delay or non-delivery of their vote-by-mail ballots,” according to the lawsuit.
This story has been updated with a statement from the Trump Victory campaign.
This story was originally published May 5, 2020 at 3:54 PM.
