(Tallahassee, Fla.) – The Florida State Legislature passed SB90 late Thursday night, a bill that makes voting by mail significantly more difficult, places unnecessary limits on ballot drop boxes, makes it harder to register to vote, and gives partisan poll watchers more power to challenge ballots. Governor Ron Desantis is expected to sign the bill into law Friday. The following is a statement from Ezra Rosenberg, co-director of the Voting Rights Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law:
“The anti-voter politicians who crafted and passed this bill had one clear objective in mind – undermine the freedom to vote of Black Americans and other communities of color, silencing their voices in our democracy. This is regressive legislation that will erect unnecessary barriers for eligible voters exercising their right to the franchise. “We are witnessing anti-voter politicians in Florida and across the country undo years of progress on expanding access to the ballot box—but we have a way to stop it. SB90, and the 361 other voter suppression bills that have been introduced this year in state legislatures across the country, make clear why we need the U.S. Congress to immediately pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the For the People Act.”