Florida ballot initiative law mostly upheld by federal judge, but key part suspended

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3 days ago

A federal judge in Tallahassee mostly denied requests to temporarily block parts of a new Florida law revising rules for citizen-led ballot initiatives from plaintiffs who say it violates the First Amendment right to free political speech.
The law (HB 1205), signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in May, was promptly challenged by Florida Decides Healthcare, a group looking to expand Medicaid access in Florida. Other groups also involved in statewide petitions joined the lawsuit, including Smart & Safe Florida, which is proposing an recreational marijuana initiative.
On June 4, Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker denied motions to block multiple portions of the new law that toughens regulations on ballot initiatives, coming after DeSantis and state officials claimed fraud in last year's petition gathering. These parts of the law include a requirement for all petitions to be turned in to local elections offices within 10 days and fines for missing voter information and late petition returns.
Walker did grant one motion from the health care group, which challenged a law change in the racketeering statute to include violations of state election code and petition fraud. The judge sided with the plaintiffs over a "vagueness claim" for the new law's expanded definition for "racketeering activity."
"But such a standardless and discretionary determination only lends itself to the mischief associated with an unconstitutionally vague statute that allows for arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement," says the order on the motion for preliminary injunction. They can be granted early in a lawsuit to temporarily stop something, like enforcement of a law, until the case is fully decided.
Despite the judge's multiple denials, Mitch Emerson of Florida Decides Healthcare called the ruling a "major victory."
"The court put a halt to one of the most dangerous parts of HB 1205 – a vague criminal penalty that would have made grassroots participation in the democratic process a potential felony," Emerson said. "That's not just a win for Florida Decides Healthcare – that's a win for every Floridian who wants to engage in the ballot measure process without fear or intimidation."
Representatives and attorneys for Smart & Safe Florida did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit ultimately argues that the law violates First Amendment rights to political speech and to petition government with its increased penalties, stricter deadlines and toughened regulations on who can circulate petitions.
For years, groups have collected petitions to successfully pass initiatives that set caps on the number of students in classrooms, approved medical marijuana, restored voting rights to felons and mandated a $15 minimum wage.
On top of the new state regulations that didn't exist in campaigns for last year's amendments, petition groups already face a looming Feb. 1 deadline to submit nearly 900,000 signatures.
Yet this law comes after two contentious ballot amendments failed to meet the state's threshold of 60% to amend the constitution — one guaranteeing access to abortion and another approving recreational marijuana for adults.
DeSantis campaigned against both initiatives, yet voters supported them by 57.2% and 55.9%, respectively.
2024 marijuana amendment: Recreational marijuana in Florida snuffed out after amendment falls short of 60%
Among the increased penalties and stricter deadlines, the law also requires all petition circulators to be Florida residents. On May 30, Smart & Safe Florida filed an emergency motion claiming that the prohibition on non-resident petition circulators "injured" the group's ability "to carry their message to the public."
On top of it, the group argued in that motion an already-existing limitation from the law that limits each volunteer to only collect 25 petitions.
In their motion, the organization said that the state law's nonresident provision is "very likely the difference between" the amendment getting on the ballot or not.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Stephany Matat is based in Tallahassee, Fla. She can be reached at [e-mail]. On X: @stephanymatat.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Ballot initiative crackdown largely survives First Amendment test