Voter Registration

The plaintiffs say the problem is particularly acute in Miami-Dade, Broward, Duval, and Orange counties, which have large black populations.

College officials stress the importance of young people making it to the polls. They say that usually, about 70% of USF students register. However, only 30% of those actually cast their vote.

The number of registered Republican voters in Florida officially surpassed Democrats by more than 1 million on Sunday, a milestone reflecting political shifts in the Sunshine State and the largest margin for the GOP since the late 1980s.

Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd and Attorney General Ashley Moody appealed a federal judge’s decision blocking part of a 2023 Florida elections law that placed new restrictions on voter-registration groups.

Republicans have continued widening a gap that began in 2021 after the GOP overtook Democrats in registration.

Laws passed in several Republican-controlled states after the 2020 presidential election have criminalized much of the work done by voter outreach groups. Advocates are finding it difficult to adapt as they try to register and educate potential voters with just months to go before this year's presidential election.

The judge issued a permanent injunction against the part that targeted non-citizens, saying it violated the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.

Voter registration groups in Florida are helping fewer citizens sign up to cast an elections ballot, nearly a year after increased penalties for rules violations went into effect.

A 2023 Florida law states voter registration groups that employ non-U.S. citizens can face fines of up to $250,000, while making it a felony for canvassers to collect personal information. The groups say the law could be “fatal” for them, “to the detriment of marginalized voters across the state.”

Plaintiffs and legal experts are previewing the status of the Hispanic Federation v. Byrd trial.

Florida belonged to the Electronic Voter Registration System, known as ERIC — but left last year, joining a small group of other deep red states

Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker denied the request from attorneys for Secretary of State Cord Byrd in a lawsuit challenging the 2023 law.