A few days ago I posted a diary about Florida law HB 1355. This new law:
cuts the allowable time for early voting from 14 days to 8 days
eliminates a long-standing provision that allowed people to update their address at the polls and still cast a regular ballot
forces organizations and individuals that register voters to comply with onerous regulations under threat of fines and civil penalties
The effect of this law is chilling.
forces individuals or groups to register with the state before collecting voter registration forms.
assigns voter registration forms to third-party voter registration organizations and requires them to submit monthly reports to the Secretary of State detailing the outcome of each form.
requires that completed forms be submitted to county Supervisors of Elections within 48 hours of receipt.
imposes civil penalties and fines of up to $1,000 for those who fail to comply.
As I understand it, the fines apply for each instance, so for example, if you register 20 people and don't get the forms in within 48 hours, that is a fine of $20,000. So far, two teachers have been penalized for registering their students to vote.
Because of the threat of heavy fines, the League of Women voters of Florida has suspended their efforts to register new voters. This group is nonpartisan. In the past, they have gone into high schools and colleges to register young people to vote. This is not happening at this critical time. President Obama will not be able to win Florida in November and might not be reelected without the votes of these young people.
In December, The League of Women Voters, Rock the Vote and Florida PIRG filed suit in federal court to block the law’s voter registration restrictions. The lawsuit claims that the new law violates the U.S. Constitution, the National Voter Registration Act, and the Voting Rights Act.
Florida needs help. At the very least, people need to be aware of these new restrictions. Young people, minorities, and seniors need to know what they need to do to get themselves registered to vote.
This powerpoint should be going viral in Florida. If you know people in Florida, please send them a copy of this powerpoint:
http://thefloridavoter.org/...
Lastly, we really need a Florida group here on Daily Kos. It would be a start in disseminating information. If there is a Florida person who is interested in starting one, I would be glad to help recruit members.