TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Supporters of progressive ideas have sued in federal court against new rules that make it harder for citizen-led proposals to get on the ballot in Florida.
The court challenge is being brought by Florida Decides Healthcare, the group working to get a measure on the 2026 ballot that would expand Medicaid in the state, along with the Southern Poverty Law Centre and the Elias Law Group, a law firm that often works with Democratic candidates and groups.
The filing on Sunday came just a few days after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the restrictions into law, despite opposition from those who said the new barriers would make it too expensive and impossible for regular people to get issues on the ballot.
“This bill is not meant to make the process of ballot initiatives better.” “It goes against Floridians’ basic right to take part in their own democracy,” said Mitch Emerson, Executive Director of FDH. “Politicians in Tallahassee are trying to change the rules in a planned and cowardly way, not to help the people but to protect their own power.”
The Associated Press asked Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd and Attorney General James Uthmeier’s offices for comment, but they did not reply right away. A DeSantis spokeswoman pointed to the governor’s past social media posts in which he said that the changes should have been made sooner.
Anyone who collects more than 25 signed petitions for the election that aren’t their own or close family members could be charged with a felony under the new law. They also need to register with the state as a petition circulator.
Emerson thinks that the new law will add millions of dollars to the costs of his campaign. This is because he will have to follow the new rules and hire more paid circulators to make up for volunteers who drop out of fear of being sued.
Volunteers aren’t sure if they are officially allowed to help. The communities are lost. He said, “That’s exactly what the law was meant to do: to cause confusion and try to stop engagement before it starts.”
At this point, Emerson said, FDH had gathered about 100,000 signatures as part of its plan to gather 880,000 confirmed petitions by February 1.
People in Florida have long been able to get around the Republican-controlled Legislature with the citizens’ initiative process. This has helped progressive policies like raising the minimum wage, legalising medical marijuana, and giving people with felony records their voting rights back.
Lawmakers say the new rules are needed to fix a process that they say has been harmed by fraud. The changes were made by the state’s GOP-controlled Legislature months after Florida voters backed proposals on the ballot to protect abortion rights and legalise marijuana for recreational use, but the measures fell short of the 60% needed to pass.
Republican state Sen. Don Gaetz of the Panhandle said, “This bill is not an attack on the citizen initiative process.” “It’s an attack on the people who messed it up.”
Also, the law limits who can collect petitions. People who don’t live in Florida, have a felony record, and haven’t had their voting rights restored aren’t allowed to. Noncitizens are also not allowed.
Floridians will have to give more personal information when they sign a petition, give out their driver’s license number, voter ID card number, or the last four digits of their Social Security number.
Campaigners will have less time to get papers back to local election officials, and if they don’t, they will be fined more if they don’t send them to the right county.