Saying the case “arises from Florida’s latest assault on the right to vote,” a federal judge Monday blocked parts of a new election law challenged by voter-registration groups. Via WRLN:
Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, in a 58-page decision, issued a preliminary injunction against parts of the law that would prevent non-U.S. citizens from “collecting or handling” voter-registration applications and make it a felony for voter-registration group workers to keep personal information of voters.
Walker sided with groups such as the NAACP, the League of Women Voters of Florida and Hispanic Federation that argued the changes are unconstitutional.
“Florida may, of course, regulate elections, including the voter registration process,” Walker wrote. “Here, however, the challenged provisions exemplify something Florida has struggled with in recent years; namely, governing within the bounds set by the United States Constitution. When state government power threatens to spread beyond constitutional bounds and reduce individual rights to ashes, the federal judiciary stands as a firewall. The Free State of Florida is simply not free to exceed the bounds of the United States Constitution.”
I like this Judge Walker! Imagine, a man who puts the Constitution first.
