League of Women Voters of Florida v. Browning
Court Cases

– 05/08/08

On April 28, 2008, the Brennan Center, along with the Advancement Project and Debevoise and Plimpton filed a lawsuit on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Florida, one of its members, the AFL-CIO of Florida, and AFSCME Council 79 challenging a revised Florida voter registration law that imposes prohibitive fines on voter registration groups and risks preventing eligible Florida citizens from registering and voting in the 2008 elections.

The revised Florida law, which closely resembles an earlier version of the law declared unconstitutional in federal court in 2006—see League of Women Voters of Florida v. Cobb and related documents below—will produce a serious chilling effect on registration drives and dampen turnout in November. It will also disproportionately burden African-American and Hispanic voter applicants and applicants from Spanish-speaking households, who are twice as likely to register to vote through voter registration drives as white applicants or applicants from English-speaking households. 

After the state's voter registration law was declared unconstitutional in 2006, the Florida state legislature passed a revised version that plaintiffs argue continues to deter voter registration groups and individuals from assisting Floridians in registering to vote. While Secretary of State Browning initially agreed to refrain from enforcing the new law, he has announced that he will implement it as of April 30, 2008.

The law creates a punishing and complicated tiered regime of deadlines and fines: $50 fines for each form turned in more than 10 days after collection; $250 for each form turned in past a registration deadline; and $500 for each lost form. The fines apply to each and every form that is lost or late. The fines are $250, $500 and $1000, respectively, for any group or individual found to have done any of the above willfully.

Plaintiffs argue that even with reduced—but significant—fines, the law is so vague that its cumulative effect could be just as risky to non-profit voter registration groups largely operated by volunteers as the earlier version of the law.

Even if the reenacted law were not fatally vague, plaintiffs argue it should be enjoined because it contains many of the same flaws that led the court to enjoin the prior enactment: escalating fines for failing to meet arbitrary deadlines, nearly strict liability for those fines, and the risk of significant fines for individual volunteers and employees of voter registrations drives.

The full list of plaintiffs in the suit is: League of Women Voters of Florida; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 79 (AFSCME); Florida AFL-CIO; and Marilyn Wills, president of the Tallahassee League of Women Voters.

Plaintiffs are represented by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and the Advancement Project, and by pro bono counsel Debevoise & Plimpton, and Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.

On April 30, 2008, the parties entered into a binding agreement filed in federal court. The agreement comes the day after plaintiffs sought a temporary restraining order that would have barred state authorities from enforcing the restrictions. Under the agreement, Secretary of State Kurt S. Browning stated that he will not enforce the restrictions until the administrative rulemaking process is completed, which he estimates will occur no earlier than early July 2008. As a result, groups and individuals who conduct voter registration drives in Florida can proceed with their voter registration activities without fear of being fined under the law, until at least early July 2008.

District Court Papers



League of Women Voters of Florida v. Cobb

On May 18, 2006, the Center, in conjunction with the Advancement Project and pro bono counsel Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP and Becker & Poliakoff, P.A., filed a lawsuit in federal district court challenging as unconstitutional a new Florida law that restricts the activities of voter registration groups. The challenged law requires third-party voter registration groups to meet new artificially short deadlines for the return of forms, and imposes hefty fines under a strict liability scheme; the suit argues the resulting burden on plaintiffs’ speech is unconstitutional. The new law also specifically exempts political parties from its reach, discrimination that plaintiffs argue is clearly unconstitutional.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are the League of Women Voters of Florida; People Acting for Community Together (PACT), a coalition of community organizations, churches, synagogues and schools based in Miami-Dade County; American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Council 79 (AFSCME); Service Employees International Union, Florida Healthcare Union (SEIU-FHU); Marilyn Wills, president of the Tallahassee League of Women Voters; and unnamed individuals who are eligible to and want to vote this year but will be denied by the challenged law.

On August 28, 2006, a federal court in Miami blocked enforcement of the Florida state law. After the ruling, the state appealed the case and the Florida state legislature went back and reenacted the law with slight changes. The Brennan Center submitted comments under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act to the Department of Justice opposing preclearance of the amended law. On January 23, 2008, the Department of Justice precleared Florida's amended law.

Parties entered a standstill agreement on November 29, 2007, where the State agreed not to enforce the amended law, and Plaintiffs agreed not to proceed with litigation. On February 21, 2008, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit dismissed the appeal as moot. Defendants terminated the standstill agreement on March 31, 2008 and can begin enforcing the amended restrictions on third party voter registration groups on April 30, 2008. In light of the Eleventh Circuit's ruling, Defendants filed a motion to dismiss in the District court.

District Court Papers

Selected Plaintiffs' Exhibits

Appeals Court Papers

Documents Related to Preclearance of Amended Law

Tags: Democracy, Voting Rights & Elections, Voter Registration