October 9, 2007

Voting Rights Advocates Reach Agreement with Florida Supervisors of Elections in Federal Lawsuit Challenging Voter Registration Law

Last week, a Federal District Court approved a settlement agreement between voting rights advocates and Supervisors of Elections from Broward, Duval, Orange, and Palm Beach counties (the “Supervisors”) on a law that currently bars Florida citizens who are otherwise eligible to vote from correcting certain mistakes or omissions in their voter registration applications after the “close of books” deadline, which is twenty-nine days before each election. The Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections also participated in settlement negotiations, and Miami-Dade County is expected to approve the Settlement when their Board of County Commissions meets later this month. In their lawsuit, voting rights advocates challenged this law and sought a “grace period” between the close of books and Election Day during which eligible citizens can correct their applications so that they may vote in upcoming elections.

In the settlement agreement, the Supervisors agreed to implement a grace period should the law be changed to permit such a policy. Supervisors also agreed to pay certain fees and executed a joint declaration concerning the grace period sought by the voting rights advocates.

In their declaration, the Supervisors acknowledge that during the 2004 and 2006 federal elections, hundreds to thousands of persons in each of their counties submitted incorrect or incomplete voter registration applications shortly before the close of books deadline, and that many of these persons were not able to vote in the upcoming election. The Supervisors also expect that, given the current lack of a grace period, similar problems may occur for many persons in the 2008 federal elections.

Other than Florida Statutes and opinions issued by the Secretary of State, the Supervisors stated in their declaration that they not know of any policy precluding the provision of a grace period. Furthermore, assuming the same circumstances as in 2004 and 2006, a grace period would not interfere with the orderly administration of elections, would not unduly burden the Supervisors’ resources, and would not interfere with other election-related activities. Lastly, the Supervisors stated that they have no evidence to support the conclusion that a grace period would cause an increase in voter fraud.

“We believe that this settlement is an important first step in our efforts to protect the voting rights of our clients and all Floridians, particularly citizens in communities of color which have been historically disenfranchised,” said Elizabeth Westfall, senior attorney, Advancement Project, a national civil rights organization. “We are pleased that the Supervisors have agreed to implement a grace period, if the law is changed to allow them to do so.”

With the county supervisors dismissed from the lawsuit, Florida’s Secretary of State, Kurt S. Browning, becomes the sole defendant opposing the grace period in the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include citizens from the Supervisors’ counties, as well as the AFL-CIO, AFSCME International, AFSCME Counsel 79, and the SEIU unions and their members. The plaintiffs are represented by Advancement Project; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; Stack Fernandez Anderson & Harris PA; and Hanson, Perry & Jensen PA.

Click here to read the settlement agreement.

Click here to read the county supervisors’ declarations.