In reaction, the groups have significantly reduced their businesses in the Sunshine State, according to a statement from WUSF, after Florida legislators showed their commitment to retaliate against third-party organizations that violate the law when registering citizens.
Florida’s senate passed SB 7050 in 2023. The legislation increased fines on third-party voter registration organizations who submit applications after the date, gain poorly filled subscription forms, alter a voter’s registration form, or send applications to the bad counties. Additionally, the laws forbade third-party organizations from pre-filling registration forms and from obtaining voter information from their membership types. Also, it forbade illegal creatures and other foreign nationals from obtaining voter registration forms, despite the law’s part being thrown out in March by an Obama-appointed appointment.
Fines are capped at$ 250, 000 per year.
Since the policy went into effect, regions have seen a “dramatic lowering” in the number of licenses returned, according to WUSF. Left- leaning Leon County saw voting registration software go from 10, 000 in 2021 and 2022 to only six since last year, according to the document.
Leon County Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley told WUSF,” The chapters are significantly lower. He said that businesses “almost” contributed to the cut, saying that” they simply cannot afford the risk because they can be held personally accountable for hundreds, if no tens of thousands of dollars in charges.”
According to the local news channel, Mi Vecino Florida was one of the few organizations that received more than 36, 000 votes in 2021. Verónica Herrera-Lucha, the group’s position area director, claims that the team is now merely concentrating on “educating voters.”
Republican Secretary of State Cord Byrd claimed that the legislation was necessary to hold responsible some “frequent perpetrators” because” when they mess up it disenfranchises a voter.”
Byrd fined second- group voter registration business Hard Knocks Strategies$ 34, 400 in 2023 for what the condition said were “repeated violations” of the law. The state evaluated 2, 868 membership applications that the business had collected and that “were submitted to vote officials after the legal deadline.”
” Of these licenses, at least 116 were collected when— but no delivered until after — book closing dates, subjecting Florida citizens to possible disenfranchisement”, the Department of State found. ” Hard Knocks Strategies, LLC even regularly turned in licenses to the wrong state bosses of votes, and in one instance, submitted 21 Florida voter registrations presumed to be from Texas residents”.
In addition to being detained in Charlotte and Lee Counties after allegedly submitting” a large number of fraudulent” applications between 2021 and 2022, according to the State Department, several of Hard Knocks Strategies ‘ collection agents were also detained in those counties.
The Federalist’s election correspondent, Brianna Lyman.
