Court strikes down Florida law barring non-citizens from collecting voter registration forms

A U.S. District court judge has blocked a Florida election law that criminalized noncitizens from collecting voter registration forms, a statute some say was aimed at Hispanic migrants and asylum seekers.

The law, which was overruled last week would have gone into effect this month, resulting in fines for as much as $50,000 against non-citizens “collecting or handling” voter registration forms.

While the law would have prevented migrants who illegally entered the U.S. to participating in voter registration drives, it would have also barred permanent residents who obtained their green card. 

After concerns rose throughout various Latino communities, the American Civil Liberties Union sued the state along with other organizations to block the provision.

“This hits home for us because about 70% of our canvassers are noncitizens,” said Frederick Vélez, the national director of civic engagement at the Hispanic Federation, one of the nation’s largest Latino advocacy organizations and a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that while the law targets non-citizens on its face, it would result in suppressing Hispanic voters and others from underrepresented communities.

This is because Latinos are more likely to register to vote with community-based organizations than on their own with the Supervisor of Elections.

"We just don't see any reason why a noncitizen wouldn't register voters just as efficiently or as good as someone that's a citizen," Vélez told NBC News on Thursday.

A spokesperson for Florida Secretary of State Cord Bird told the network the department would not comment on pending litigation.

The law was just one part of broader election legislation that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law on May 24 when he announced he was seeking the Republican nomination for president.

The Hispanic Federation was founded in 1990 as an organization aimed at helping advance and empower Latino communities through local, state and national advocacy.

It has formed a network of 100 grassroots organizations throughout the United States, created the Hispanic Leadership Institute and encourages Latinos learn English as a means of functioning more effectively within the country.

Since 2016, the organization has registered about 100,000 Hispanic voters in Florida.

While the statute’s supporters said the new law said it would make voting more secure, Judge Mark E. Walker disagreed.

In his 58-page ruling, said that while the state was “correct to seek integrity in our electoral system,” its solutions for doing so “are too far removed from the problems it has put forward as justifications.”

Noncitizens who lack the right to vote have “spent years registering and encouraging citizens to exercise that solemn right,” he wrote. They may, “at least for now, continue to do so and add more voices to the millions of others singing a more perfect Union into existence.”

Florida currently has 21.78 million residents and 14,421,885 registered voters. Among those voters, there are 4,815,215 registered Democrats and 5,311,365 registered Republicans.

Hispanics have played a key role in voter registration drives, especially in Florida. Efforts by Latinos in 2020 helped win the state for Republican President Donald J. Trump. 

Republicans took a significant lead in the Sunshine State in 2020 after Cuban Americans engaged in massive voter registration drives, a move that saw a 20 point drop in Democratic support from 2016 in Miami-Dade County.

In that county, President Trump had incredible gains, losing the Democratic county to Joe Biden by only 7 points, after having trailed Hillary Clinton by 27 in 2016.

Trump ultimately won the state by +3.5 points, capturing Florida’s 29 electoral votes.