Florida facing mounting litigation over new voting, anti-riot laws

ORLANDO, Fla. — The state of Florida is currently facing five lawsuits over bills signed into law in the last two weeks, with more lawsuits expected.

Right now, groups have sued the state for its new voting law (SB90), its new cap on spending for constitutional amendment drives (SB1890) and its anti-riot/anti-protest bill (HB1).

READ: Democrats raise concerns over ‘anti-riot’ bill signed by DeSantis

“We find this bill and now this law to be very restrictive,” says Patti Brigham, the president of the League of Women Voters of Florida.

The LWV is one of the groups suing the state in federal court over the new voting law, citing First Amendment issues in the way the law deals with voter registration as well as dealing with the 14th Amendment’s due process protections.

READ: Gov. DeSantis signs ‘anti-riot’ bill into law in Polk County

“They don’t seem to take those things into consideration. There seems to be a laissez faire attitude that we’re going to do whatever we want,” Brigham said.

Florida, which is accustomed to facing litigation over new laws, will once again be called on to defend these laws in court.

READ: Voting rights advocates preparing lawsuit over proposed changes to Florida election laws

“They have exhausted untold amounts of money for their cause. That’s a reality, that’s always been the case,” Reginald Mitchell of FAMU’s College of Law said.