Campaigns & Elections News
Campaigns & Elections
Bloomberg under fire for raising money to pay off felons' fines so they can vote
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – The election of 2020 could create more problems for former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who raised $16 million to pay off debts for felons in Florida so that they can vote.
Campaigns & Elections
Florida felons' voting hopes dim in wake of federal appeals court decision
Hundreds of thousands of felons may not be able to cast ballots in the presidential election after a split federal appeals court upheld a Florida law requiring them to pay all legal financial obligations before they can vote.
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Campaigns & Elections
Florida felons' voting status unclear in the wake of federal court actions
The voting status of hundreds of thousands of Floridians who have served sentences for felony convictions remains uncertain as a result of two recent federal court actions.
Campaigns & Elections
Major parties in legal skirmish over Florida voting rules
A U.S. district judge has granted a request by the Republican National Committee and the Florida Republican Party to join a voting rights lawsuit as defendants, setting up a key swing-state court battle that could affect the outcome of the fall election.
Campaigns & Elections
Leon County lawsuit urges mail ballots to be default choice
A lawsuit filed in Leon County against the local elections supervisor and the secretary of state urges officials to make mail balloting the go-to method of voting in the state to deal with uncertainties about future coronavirus outbreaks.
Campaigns & Elections
Federal judge opens door for thousands of felons to vote in primary, general elections
A federal district judge has cleared the way for potentially hundreds of thousands of Floridians who have served sentences for felony offenses to vote in the swing state’s primary and general elections later this year.
Campaigns & Elections
Zhao one step closer to appearing on Republican primary ballot
TALLAHASSEE — Yukong Zhao, a GOP candidate for the Seventh Congressional District, has won an injunction bringing him one step closer to having his name on the ballot for the upcoming election in August.
Campaigns & Elections
Florida ballot-order law stays afloat after 11th Circuit rules against state Democrats
Florida’s 1951 law requiring members of the governor’s political party to appear first for each office listed on general election ballots remains in force as a result of a federal appeals court decision this past week.
Campaigns & Elections
Longer early voting, more mail balloting likely in coming Florida elections
Those familiar with Florida elections see a greater reliance on mail voting and extended early-voting periods to space out crowds and reduce coronavirus risks during the August and November elections.
Campaigns & Elections
Judge moves forward with class-action certification in Florida felon voting case
The effects of coronavirus on Florida’s court system don’t appear to be slowing efforts to resolve a dispute over felon voting, with a federal trial set for later this month and the number of potential plaintiffs expanding into the thousands.
Campaigns & Elections
Judge turns down motions to extend Florida primary voting during COVID-19 crisis
A federal district judge has denied motions by civil rights groups that charged Florida failed to take reasonable precautions to ensure residents affected by the coronavirus crisis could vote in last week’s presidential primary.
Campaigns & Elections
Proposal for open partisan primary elections headed for Florida's November ballot
The Florida Supreme Court has given the go-ahead for state voters to decide this fall whether they want an open primary election system that would allow voters of all affiliations to take part.
Campaigns & Elections
Plaintiff in felon voting case takes part in Florida primary election
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has lost another round in his legal battle to bar felons from voting who have served their time but are unable to pay all court-mandated fines and fees.
Campaigns & Elections
Legislation that would preempt local 'rights of nature' awaits DeSantis action, as Orange County voters take it up in November
The Florida legislature and Orange County appear to be on a collision course over the issue of granting legal “rights” to elements of nature such as rivers and trees.
Campaigns & Elections
High court green-lights Florida's pass-it-twice initiative for amending state constitution
A ballot measure requiring Floridians to vote twice on constitutional amendments before they could take effect is headed for the November ballot after receiving a favorable state Supreme Court opinion last month.
Campaigns & Elections
Florida emerges as a battleground over future of 'rights of nature' pushed by environmentalists
Florida environmentalists are proposing the concept of “rights of nature” to advance their causes in court, but a federal judge in Ohio last week rejected a similar designation for Lake Erie as unconstitutionally vague.
Campaigns & Elections
Florida Supreme Court allows minimum wage ballot question
TALLAHASSEE — The Supreme Court of Florida unanimously decided to permit a ballot initiative that would increase the state’s minimum wage.
Campaigns & Elections
Marijuana proponents' lawsuit targets new Florida law that reformed initiative process
Ongoing legal skirmishes involving a proposed Florida constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana will shape how direct democracy functions in the future, according to those familiar with the litigation.
Campaigns & Elections
AIF applauds Florida Supreme Court's decision to drop energy choice initiative on November ballot
TALLAHASSEE — Business utility companies and business advocacy groups in Florida are applauding the Florida Supreme Court's recent decision to remove a proposed amendment from the state's 2020 ballot that would allow residents to choose their own electricity provider.
Campaigns & Elections
Proposal to raise the minimum wage to appear on November ballot
The Florida Supreme Court has approved the placement of a proposal to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour on the November 2020 ballot.