Obama-Appointed Judge Blocks Florida’s Election Law Banning Non-Citizens From Collecting Voter Registration Forms

An Obama-appointed federal judge on Monday issued a preliminary injunction against Florida’s election law that imposed limitations on third-party voter registration organizations.

In May Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) signed SB 7020, a law that barred non-citizens from handling or collecting voter registration forms.

One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit is an immigrant from El Salvador who works for “Mi Vecino,” a third party voter registration organization.

US District Judge Mark Walker said the election law banning non-citizens from handling voter registration forms is unconstitutional.

Judge Walker also took a veiled swipe at Governor Ron DeSantis in his 58-page ruling.

“Florida may, of course, regulate elections, including the voter registration process,” Judge Walker wrote in his ruling. “Here, however, the challenged provisions exemplify something Florida has struggled with in recent years; namely, governing within the bounds set by the United States Constitution.”

The judge acknowledged that his ruling is not the final decision.

AP reported:

A federal judge on Monday blocked Florida from enforcing part of a new elections law that bans non-citizens from handling or or collecting voter registration forms, saying the state can’t restrict individual rights and gave no proof it was necessary to do so.

The ruling also blocks a ban on third-party voter registration groups retaining personal information collected when registering new voters.

The NAACP and other groups that register voters sued the state over provisions in a larger elections bill Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed on the same day he announced he is running for president. Opponents say it makes registering voters in marginalized communities more difficult, while Republicans said they were making elections more secure.