May 18, 2011
CONTACT: ACLU of Florida Media Office, (786) 363-2737 or media@aclufl.org
The following is a statement from Howard Simon, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, regarding Governor Scott signing HB 1355:
If it weren’t so grotesquely un-American, you’d almost want to congratulate them for the audacity and efficiency of the attack. Governor Scott and the anti-civil liberties State Legislature have achieved an astonishing voter suppression trifecta. With just one bill, they made it harder to register to vote, harder to cast your vote, and harder to have your vote counted.
The right to participate in a fair election is the backbone of our democracy, and election laws are supposed to protect that right by making our elections fair and transparent. The current regime in Tallahassee wrongly sees voting as a privilege rather than the fundamental right that it is. They feel free to manipulate the voting process and use election laws as a weapon to against Floridians whose rights are inconvenient to their power.
From the very beginning, some leaders in Tallahassee made it a top priority to undo decades of work that made our democracy the envy of the world. This was made clear when, in one of their first official acts after being sworn in, Governor Scott and his cabinet repealed changes to Jim Crow civil and voting rights restoration restrictions that were enacted by the Crist Administration.
Today, with a stroke of his pen, Governor Scott has made the “Minority, Youth and Woman Voter Suppression Act of 2011,” the crown-jewel of voter suppression legislation, into law.
Florida law now forces more Floridians to cast provisional ballots which are not likely to be counted, limits the number of days Floridians have access to the polls, and has effectively shut down the volunteer voting registration work of organizations like the League of Women Voters and the Boy Scouts.
Governor Scott says he signed, to prevent fraud, which has been proven to be fictional. The Governor also claimed that he wants to make sure people have the opportunity to vote, which of course is not what this bill does. If you’re looking for fraud, look no further than the big lie on which this bill is based.
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The ACLU of Florida is freedom's watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend individual rights and personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For additional information, visit our web site at: http://www.aclufl.org.
