The NAACP alongside other organizations vowed to file a lawsuit in federal court if a controversial elections bill was passed in Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed it into state law Thursday morning (May 7) during an event closed to local media, according to NBC Miami.
“Florida took action this legislative session to increase transparency and strengthen the security of our elections,” the governor said in West Palm Beach. “Floridians can rest assured that our state will remain a leader in ballot integrity. Elections should be free and fair, and these changes will ensure this continues to be the case in the Sunshine State."
Senate Bill 90 makes sweeping changes that would restrict voting rights for Floridians, such as prohibiting the mass mailing of ballots and making ballot drop boxes available only when early voting sites are open. The legislation also makes handing out food and water at voting locations illegal, and the vote-by-mail application would only be valid for one election cycle as opposed to the current two.
The lawsuit alleges that Senate Bill 90 would make it more difficult for people who are Black, Latino, and disabled from the ballot box.
“For far too long, Florida’s lawmakers and elected officials have created a vast array of hurdles that have made it more difficult for these and other voters to make their voices heard,” the groups said in their lawsuit, which they planned to file in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee.
DeSantis echoed former President Donald Trump's claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, despite saying that Florida "had the most transparent and efficient election anywhere in the country" just a few months ago.
Abdelilah Skhir with Florida’s American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)“Democrats, Republicans, Independents, our supervisor of elections — everyone can agree on that our elections went extremely smooth [last year]."
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