FGA Files Legal Brief in Defense of Florida’s Commonsense Election Reforms

Naples, FL—Today, the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) filed an amicus curiae legal brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in support of Florida and its commonsense election integrity law, Senate Bill 90 (SB 90). 

FGA asks the Court to reverse the lower court’s ruling which not only struck down three of Florida’s commonsense election reforms, but imposed preclearance on the state, requiring Florida to obtain the permission of the federal government for the next 10 years before it may pass election reforms that are otherwise legal. If the ruling is not reversed, Section 3(c) preclearance will become a new legal strategy employed by the Left across the country to oppose any meaningful election reforms designed to prevent election fraud and inspire voter confidence. FGA’s brief notes that Florida’s election reforms “strike a lawful and proper balance between making it easy to vote, but hard to cheat” and argues that it is time for courts to put an end to preclearance, once and for all.

In March, a lower federal court found three reforms in SB 90 to be acts of intentional racial discrimination, placing Florida under the strictures of preclearance. On May 6, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued an order halting enforcement of the lower court’s ruling which improperly found those provisions of Florida’s election integrity law to be unconstitutional. 

“The lower court’s findings create a legal presumption that any time Republicans pass commonsense election rules that make it harder to cheat, they are invariably discriminatory, but if Democrats do the same, they are not. Such a legal presumption, though certainly beneficial to the Left, could never survive judicial review,” said Madeline Malisa, Senior Policy Fellow.

In its ruling, the lower court claimed that “the right to vote, and the VRA particularly, are under siege.” “The lower court was wrong,” said Stewart Whitson, Legal Director. “Neither the right to vote nor the VRA are under siege, but rather, it is the equal sovereignty of the states and their right to regulate their own elections in accordance with the Constitution that are under siege. FGA stands ready to continue to help states across the country as they defend their constitutional right to pass commonsense election integrity laws.”

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals should reverse the lower court’s ruling. 

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The Foundation for Government Accountability is a non-profit, multi-state think tank that specializes in health care, welfare, work, and election reform. To learn more, visit TheFGA.org.