U.S. District Judge Mark Walker wrote a decision striking down parts of an election integrity bill passed by the Florida Legislature and signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last year. The provisions that were struck down were the parts that limited the use of ballot drop boxes to voting hours and requiring a third party to issue a warning to potential voters that their registration application might not be turned in before the voter registration deadline or within the required 14 days.
The plaintiffs, including the League of Women Voters, have argued that “SB 90 runs roughshod over the right to vote, unnecessarily making voting harder for all eligible Floridians, unduly burdening disabled voters, and intentionally targeting minority voters – all to improve the electoral prospects of the party in power,” wrote Walker’s assessment of the plaintiffs’ arguments.
Based on the evidence provided to Walker, “this Court finds that, for the most part, Plaintiffs are right,” he said.
A number of self-described “civil rights” groups lauded Walker’s ruling saying SB 90 is, in fact, discriminatory.
“Judge Walker’s ruling reflects the reality of SB 90: it is a deliberately anti-democratic law meant to create obstacles for Black and brown Americans to vote in our democracy,” said Kira Romero-Craft, director of Legal Strategies, Demos. “It’s no coincidence that Florida enacted legislation that made it harder to vote by mail and for third-party organizations to facilitate voter registration immediately after an election with record turnout among voters of color.”
Notable Republican officials in Florida were “appalled” at Walker’s ruling and description of Florida’s lawmakers. Florida House Speaker Chris Sprowls (R-Palm Harbor) inferred that Walker’s ruling was predetermined “in search of an overlong and poorly reasoned rationale.”
“The illogical leaps and unsupported inferences in Judge Walker’s opinion amount to a 288-page accusation of discriminatory intent based on limited analysis of data he thinks the Legislature might have had, the uncritical and complete acceptance of the comments of Democratic lawmakers, and a total disregard for other viewpoints. … Judge Walker’s premise — that the Legislature and Governor may only amend election laws if they are requested by Supervisors of Election or supported by the Democratic Party — demonstrate that this opinion was a predetermined outcome in search of an overlong and poorly reasoned rationale.”
Similarly, Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson (R-Spring Hill) called Walker’s description of Florida’s state senators “unprofessional.”
“Judge Walker’s comments about duly elected Florida Senators are appalling. This order is highly unprofessional, inaccurate, and unbecoming of an officer of the court. The Florida Senate looks forward to continuing to advocate for fair, free, transparent, and secure elections for all.”
One of Walker’s assessments that Simpson subtly references takes place on pages 87-88 in the decision and alleges that Florida State Senator Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala) has racist tendencies and Walker used that as part of his decision.
“In a similar vein, this Court heard testimony that, throughout his career, Senator Baxley has ‘stopped a bill from being further considered which would have established a slavery memorial’ because he did not want to ‘celebrate defeat,’ fought to keep the racial epithet, ‘darkie,’ in the state song, ‘opposed a bill that would ban the display of Confederate flags on state and local government property,’ and ‘opposed a bill to replace a … statue of [Confederate] General Edmund Kirby Smith with one of Mary McLeod Bethune, Black educator and civil rights worker.’ Because Senator Baxley sponsored SB 90, this evidence has some marginal relevance. But Senator Baxley is one of 40 senators. And just as with Senators Boyd and Hutson’s statements, Senator Baxley’s deeply troubling statements and actions cannot tell this Court much about the Legislature’s motivations.”
In a footnote provided by Walker on page 88 related to Baxley, Walker said, “One would have hoped that, as a funeral director, Senator Baxley would have recognized that it’s time to put the Confederacy to rest.”
Baxley, by trade, is a funeral director and former President Barack Obama appointed Walker to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in 2012.
Despite Walker’s attempts to paint SB 90 as racially based, a 2012 grand jury report in an election fraud case in Miami-Dade County recommended many of the provisions in the Florida law.
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Grant Holcomb is a reporter at The Florida Capital Star and The Star News Network. Follow Grant on Twitter and direct message tips.
Reprinted with permission.
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One day voting, holiday if you wish. Paper ballot only. Absentee ballot upon request because of health issues or out of the country and can prove it. Special ombudsmen for assisted living facilities. Valid ID and signature and only citizens can vote.
Small precincts, 1000 voters max, hand count and full paper trail. Observers for all counting. The People can call for a full audit. Any citizen can request any public information about any government service, especially voting.
Free, fair and no racism involved.
RE: Robert Monroe “In Tampa, long lines of voters gathered outside voting places, waiting for the chance to vote for Barack Obama. The Republican Party responded, immediately, before the next election, by reducing the number of days for early voting, reducing the number of voting locations, changing the rules for voting by mail, and making changes in requirements for ID in order to be allowed to vote.”
You’re being disingenuous to say that the changes have anything to do with race. Keep on playing the victim and libs will treat you like a victim. Do you ever wonder why the big cities which are ruled by libs fail? It’s not the Republican party that causes those failures. It’s failed liberal policies.
Robert Monroe,
Hilarious…oh, you are serious… sorry to hear you are still on the plantation and people aren’t buying your nonsense anymore. Either vote and vote legally or don’t vote at all. You are very racist to think that African American voters are denied their voting rights. You are using African Americans to push your woke agendas and to legalize cheating at the polls. Sorry, no sale today!
@ Hawkins…you know black folks don’t know how to get an ID Card…..the Democrats tell us that every election.
How about you have to pay taxes to vote. I bet a large portion of the Progressives don’t pay income taxes. The welfare recipients don’t pay anything but they get a “refund”. How about I keep my money and the bums living off the taxpayer’s dime start taking care of themselves.
Ballot Drop Boxes SHOULD be limited in Numbers. Put them in the Post Offices where the Postal People at the Counter can keep an eye on them.
Only someone from the Elections Office should be the only ones with access to the contents of the Ballot Drop Boxes.
Early Voting Days should be knocked down to 5 Days.
Any Ballots received AFTER the Polls close should NOT be Counted.
A Government Issued Photo ID should be shown at time of receiving your Ballot when Voting in Person.
The only people allowed to order a Mail In Ballot should be the Elderly, the Disabled, State & Federal Elected Officials (not their Family) and Deployed Military (not Contractors) and that is it.
If you can’t Vote in your Precinct because you are away then you are out of luck.
The Voter Rolls should be purged every 6 Years.
Voting Days should be the same Dates in ALL States.
Voting is too Important to play fast and loose with it.
Democrats can’t win unless they cheat folks… on THIS, the Science is Settled.
He and his wife Karen have been liberal activists for decades. Comes off as a nice guy, but he is a liberal extremist who cannot wait to use his power to legislate from teh bench and strike down everything republicans do in Florida. clearly auditioning for a higher court with this ridiculous virtue signaling ruling. It will be reversed by the 11th Circuit.
For many years, many African Americans were denied the right to vote. The African Americans who were allowed to vote usually had two choices: they could either vote for a white candidate or don’t vote. It is understandable that, when given the opportunity to vote for an African American candidate, many chose to do so. That is especially true of voters who felt that other office holders did not represent them.
In Tampa, long lines of voters gathered outside voting places, waiting for the chance to vote for Barack Obama. The Republican Party responded, immediately, before the next election, by reducing the number of days for early voting, reducing the number of voting locations, changing the rules for voting by mail, and making changes in requirements for ID in order to be allowed to vote.
Those changes were deliberately aimed at African American voters and younger voters. Instead of tailoring their policies and messages to attract black voters, the Republican Party opted to make it more difficult for them to vote.
Judge Walker is absolutely right.
He was a horrible judge when he was on the circuit bench. Not surprising coming from him. Very close with Obama operatives and Barry Richard & company and Gillum.
…”former President Barack Obama appointed Walker to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in 2012″.