FLA Sued to Prevent the Disenfranchisement of Thousands of Black/ Latino Voters

Today, the People for the American Way, SEIU and the AFL-CIO  filed suit in federal court in Miami against Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood and the Broward, Duval, Miami-Dade, Orange, and Palm Beach County Supervisors of Elections to stop the disenfranchisement of thousands of Florida residents caused by the unlawful conduct of state and local officials.  Extensive and tireless efforts have been conducted throughout the state to register new voters. As a result of these efforts, the number of registered voters has reached unprecedented numbers. But the voting rights of many Floridians may be denied because of state officials' failure to process valid voter registration applications or notify applicants in a timely manner that their applications were deemed to be incomplete.  These unlawful practices have a disparate impact on prospective Black and Latino voters. In Miami-Dade County, Blacks comprise more than 35 percent and Latinos more than 25 percent of applications deemed incomplete.  In particular, our action seeks to preserve the voting rights of more than 10,000 Floridians who are eligible to vote and who registered to vote in advance of the October 4 deadline, but whose applications the Supervisors of Elections have refused to process because they have adopted unduly restrictive registration procedures that violate federal election laws. [more ] and [more ] and  [more ]