Grassroots campaign groups urge judge to rein in Florida’s petition crackdown

Attorneys for grassroots campaigners ar once more asking a union soldier adjudicate to hold enforcement of parts of a new Florida law that restricts the state’s process to get citizens’ initiatives on the ballot.

Tuesday's arguments before US District Judge Mark Walker in Tallahassee were the latest attempt by attorneys for voter advocacy groups and campaigns for Medicaid expansion and recreational marijuana to carve away at a law that they argue unconstitutionally hamstrings citizens' abilities to amend Florida's constitution.

So far, Walker has issued mixed rulings in the case, freezing some portions of the law but allowing other parts to go into effect, even as the campaigns try to gather enough signatures from voters to qualify for the 2026 ballot.

Walker had already blocked some provisions of the statute that bar noncitizens and residents of other states from gathering petitions to get a measure on the ballot.

On Tuesday, attorneys came back to ask Walker to expand that ruling, barring state attorneys from enforcing that aspect of the law against their clients. Walker had previously blocked enforcement by the attorney general, secretary of state and local elections supervisors against the plaintiffs.

“We’re here to address a gap in the relief provided,” said Glenn Burhans, an attorney for Smart & Safe Florida, the recreational marijuana campaign.

“In our view, it makes for a cleaner record and a much clearer situation on the ground to make sure that the state attorneys are enjoined,” Burhans added.

An attorney for Latino voter engagement group Poder Latinx also urged Walker to shield their members from prosecution under the noncitizen provision.

In this latest round of requests to the court, an attorney for the state of Florida argued Walker shouldn't reward what he described as vexatious, piecemeal motions.

"That’s no way to run a railroad. And it’s no way to run a case like this," said Mohammad Jazil, an attorney for Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd.

“They should seek their strongest basis for relief the first time, or in this case, the second time, and we should move on from there," Jazil said of the plaintiffs. “But that’s not what we’re doing.”

Walker declined to rule from the bench, saying he would issue an order on Tuesday.

Other plaintiffs in the case are expected to make their own arguments for a preliminary injunction next month, with a trial scheduled to start in January.

Legislatures in dozens of states have advanced bills recently to crack down on the public’s ability to put measures up for a vote, according to the Ballot Initiative Strategy Centre. Voting rights advocates say the trend betrays the promise of direct democracy.

Under Florida’s law, an individual could be charged with a felony if they collect more than 25 signed ballot petitions, other than their own or those of immediate family members, and don’t register with the state as a petition circulator.

The law signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in May also gives campaigns just 10 days instead of the previous 30 to return signed petition forms to local elections officials. Petitioners could also face stiff fines if they don’t return the petitions on time or send them to the wrong county.

Lawmakers argue that the restrictions are needed to reform a process they claim has been tainted by fraud.

The Republican-controlled Legislature pushed the changes months after a majority of Florida voters supported ballot initiatives to protect abortion rights and legalise recreational marijuana, though the measures fell short of the 60% needed to pass.

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