Settlement of suit over vote-by-mail processes reached on eve of trial

A group of Democratic organizations and voting rights groups in Florida dropped a lawsuit Sunday against the state that sought to make adjustments to Florida’s vote-by-mail procedures.

Priorities USA, Dream Defenders and other plaintiffs were seeking to expand the state’s vote-by-mail process, arguing that the COVID-19 pandemic will result in a record number of Floridians casting ballots from home to reduce chances of being infected with the highly contagious coronavirus.

But instead of pursuing a legal battle with Florida officials set to start with a hearing Monday, the groups settled with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration on the eve of the federal court hearing. While the settlement is being hailed as a “victory” for the voting rights groups, Florida Republicans are casting the agreement as a blow to left-leaning organizations.

The settlement would in part require Secretary of State Laurel Lee to “educate” and “encourage” county supervisors of elections about available vote-by-mail procedures.

For example, the state’s top elections official would be required to educate supervisors about prepaid postage for mail-in ballots. The settlement also would encourage local elections officials “to maximize the use of drop boxes for vote-by-mail ballots” and to inform voters about the availability of the ballot drop-off sites.

During a brief but emotional hearing Monday morning, Mohammad Jazil, a private attorney who often represents the DeSantis administration in elections-related lawsuits, choked back tears when describing the impact of the agreement.

The settlement is a victory for all Floridians, Jazil told U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle.

“The victors include the black teen in Overtown Miami, who will be voting for the first time, the hurricane refugee from Puerto Rico who’s now casting a vote in Kissimmee, the rural voters, a single mom, the dad who works two jobs” and first-generation college students, Jazil said.

“These victors are those who sometimes need a hand in exercising the franchise,” Jazil added, struggling to speak. “These people are to be applauded. This agreement will help these Floridians, and many others like them.”

Not all goals achieved

But the final agreement falls short of some of the other claims in the original agreement. Among other things, the plaintiffs had asked to extend a deadline for mail-in ballots to be returned, but this was not included in the settlement.

They also wanted free postage for the ballots and challenged a provision in Florida law restricting paid workers from collecting mail-in ballots. And while supervisors of elections can opt to do so, they are not required to provide prepaid postage.

“Honestly, it’s really now up to individuals and folks who would like to see more of that option available to work with their supervisors to make sure that that is extended to the community members that need it,” said Kira Romero-Craft, managing attorney for the southeast office of LatinoJustice Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, one of the groups suing the state.

Plaintiffs in the case argued that Florida needed to expand its vote-by-mail procedures because of COVID-19, which disrupted the state’s presidential primary election in March and is expected to cause even more issues in the Aug. 18 primary elections and the Nov. 3 general election.

The agreement also encourages supervisors “to use the maximum number of early voting days available to them so … they can avail themselves of additional canvassing days and maximize the availability of mandatory drop boxes for vote-by-mail ballots.”

“We believe that it makes the best sense on behalf of Florida voters to work with the state on this issue … rather than continue to fight over the deadline,” said Romero-Craft.

Challenges remain for blind voters

While Sunday’s settlement appeared to put to rest most of the elements in the left-leaning groups’ legal challenges, some issues remain unresolved, according to Matthew Dietz, a lawyer who represents blind voters.

Dietz, who represents the Florida Council of the Blind and individual plaintiffs, is trying to get supervisors to use systems that will allow blind or print-impaired voters to be able to fill out ballots from home without assistance.

Under Sunday’s settlement, Lee agreed to “educate the supervisors on the acquisition and use of any new voter accessibility technologies approved or conditionally approved by the secretary.”

Romero-Craft said some county supervisors of elections, like Volusia County, are already implementing technology that makes ballots more accessible for blind voters. However, there could be additional litigation if the system is not adopted by supervisors of elections in a reasonable time frame, she said.

Dietz noted that the state received $20 million in federal funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, known as the CARES Act, for elections-related expenses.

The money can be used to pay for OmniBallot, a system that Lee’s office certified last week — which Romero-Craft believes was as a result of the lawsuit — that allows blind and print-impaired voters to secretly and independently fill out their ballots from home, Dietz said.

Still, Sunday’s settlement appears to have been a major concession by the progressive groups seeking to expand vote-by-mail procedures in Florida, a battleground state that Democrats and Republicans consider critical for a White House victory this year.

Republicans call it a win

The Republican Party of Florida, which intervened in the lawsuit, declared “victory” in an email after the agreement was announced.

“Floridians choosing to vote-by-mail must have confidence that their vote will be safe and secure,” state Republican Chairman Joe Gruters, a Sarasota Republican who is also a state senator, said in a prepared statement. “We are glad that the Democrat-aligned organizations finally saw the light and dropped their lawsuit.”

The legal wrangling over mail-in ballots in Florida has come amid a national furor over absentee voting, with the man at the top of the Republican ticket in November railing about vote-by-mail for months.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly linked mail-in ballots with fraud, but this week he appeared to ease his stance on the process, which has been popular with Florida Republicans for years.

“You’ll have tremendous fraud if you do these mail-in ballots,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday, appearing to single out states in which elections officials are automatically sending absentee ballots to voters.

Florida’s “no excuse” absentee-ballot law allows voters to request mail-in ballots without giving a reason. Elections officials throughout the state, struggling to find enough poll workers and precinct locations during the Aug. 18 and Nov. 3 elections, have encouraged Floridians to vote by mail to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

“Now, absentee ballots are OK, because absentee ballots — you have to get applications. You have to go through a process,” the president said Tuesday.

Reporting from the News Service of Florida’s Dara Kam was used in this story.

This story was originally published July 20, 2020 at 9:24 AM.