Politics

Florida Can't Ban Noncitizens From Registering Voters, Judge Rules

MAR 6 2024·Updated MAR 7 2024

Story

Image credit: Unsplash

The Facts

A federal judge has struck down a provision in Florida state law that would have banned noncitizens from collecting or handling voter registration applications.
Sun Sentinel
In his ruling on Friday, Chief US District Judge Mark E. Walker found that a clause in Florida's SB 7050 that stipulated a $50K fine for each non-US citizen found "collecting or handling voter registration applications" violates constitutional equal protection rights.
NBC
In July, Walker issued a preliminary injunction against the provision of the law and a stipulation that would have made it a felony for voter registration groups to retain voter's personal data. DeSantis' administration appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals over the injunction is currently pending.
Sun Sentinel
Florida was left unable to enforce the state law last year, after an emergency injunction allowed organizations to continue using noncitizens to register voters. Friday's ruling means the Florida secretary of state’s office will be restricted from enforcing the proposed ban in state law.
NBC
Friday's decision is the result of a lawsuit filed by the Hispanic Federation and Poder Latinx, along with three noncitizen plaintiffs. The plaintiffs were represented by the ACLU and four other legal organizations.
American Civil Liberties Union
According to the Department of Homeland Security, an estimated 1.3M lawful permanent residents currently live in Florida. Lawful permanent residents are typically required to wait five years before they become eligible to become US citizens.
Yahoo! News

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Left narrative

This ruling validates that a person's citizenship status should in no way impede their ability to help people register to vote. Noncitizens play a valuable role in American democracy and have, for years, played a vital role in efforts to provide voter education and outreach to underrepresented communities, making voting more accessible for many Americans.

American Civil Liberties Union

Right narrative

All around the country, democracy is being undermined by the participation of noncitizens and illegal immigrants in US elections. The Democratic Party has essentially staked its platform on appealing to the influence of noncitizens, as much as those legally entitled to vote, so as to achieve the mandate needed to sign off their radical agenda.