Federal Appeals Court Upholds Florida Voting Restrictions Backed by Republicans
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On Thursday, a federal appeals court upheld several voting restrictions in Florida that Republicans backed. The court overruled a lower court judge who had determined that the laws intentionally discriminated against minority voters. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel of judges, in a split 2-1 decision, stated that the evidence did not prove that lawmakers specifically targeted Black voters when they enacted measures such as limiting the use of ballot drop boxes, preventing third-party organizations from collecting voter registration forms, and prohibiting people from engaging with voters in line. The restrictions were signed into law in 2021 by Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to launch a bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination next month. Republicans have been pushing for new limits on voting in response to former President Donald Trump's false claims of voter fraud following his defeat to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
After several civil rights groups challenged the law in court, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in Tallahassee deemed most of the law racially discriminatory in March 2022. He ordered the state to obtain court approval for any changes to these provisions for ten years, a practice known as "preclearance," which he believed was justified by a long history of discrimination. However, the appeals court overturned Walker's ruling and eliminated the preclearance requirement, stating that he had made errors both in law and in fact. The two judges who formed the majority opinion, William Pryor and Britt Grant, were nominated by Republican presidents. In contrast, the dissenting judge, Jill Pryor (unrelated to William Pryor), was appointed by a Democrat.
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