Lawsuit Says Florida Makes It Needlessly Hard for Many People to Vote

The civil rights groups originally sued the governor and secretary of state in March to extend the vote-by-mail deadline for the presidential primary to encourage voters to follow social-distancing guidelines. The initial complaint fell on deaf ears, however, as Florida was one of a few states that did not postpone their primaries. In-person voting continued as usual, and two Broward County poll workers later tested positive for COVID-19.

The activists amended their complaint this month to focus on changing protocols for the upcoming elections and to add a group of new plaintiffs, including the LGBTQ+ youth advocacy group Zebra Coalition and Young, who is president of the Florida Council of the Blind.

The new complaint expands the scope of the lawsuit to demand that the state provide more options for people with disabilities and language barriers, expand early voting locations and dates, provide a better online voter registration system, and improve the vote-by-mail process so that it doesn't disenfranchise groups who have historically had their mailed ballots rejected.[...]

"Vote by mail is not equally accessible to all voters. People are being left out," says Stuart Naifeh, senior counsel for the political think tank Demos and an attorney for the plaintiffs.

Read more at Miami New Times