DeSantis Gets Bill Targeting Voter Registration Groups

CNN reports:

Florida lawmakers have passed an array of new restrictions on groups that register voters – an action that voting rights experts say could make it harder for people of color in the state to register and participate in future elections. The measures are part of a sweeping elections bill that now awaits Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature.

Several key provisions focus squarely on third-party voter registration groups. Among them: one shortening from 14 days to 10 the amount of time these organizations have to turn in any registration forms they collect. The bill imposes daily late fees for each tardy application. Altogether, groups could be fined as much as $250,000 in total for violations each calendar year.

Abdelilah Shkir, voting rights policy strategist for the ACLU of Florida, noted that the maximum financial penalty voter registration organizations face for violations has skyrocketed in Florida – up from $1,000 annually just two years ago. “That’s going to scare off a lot of people,” he said.

Read the full article.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Danny Burgess [photo], first appeared here in 2021 for his bill granting unemployment benefits to anyone fired for refusing to get the COVID vaccine. We heard from him again in February 2023 when he declared that TikTok is “digital fentanyl” for children.

Florida lawmakers have passed an array of new restrictions on groups that register voters – an action that voting rights experts say could make it harder for people of color in the state to register and participate in future elections https://t.co/BznYdPTfBz

— CNN (@CNN) May 4, 2023