Press Releases
12/07/2021
Attorney General Tong Joins Coalition Fighting to Protect Free and Fair Elections for Voters
(Hartford, CT) — Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of 17 attorneys general from around the nation in filing an amicus brief in three cases having to do with voting rights.
The plaintiffs in these cases challenge Florida’s restrictive voting law, SB 90. They explain that the law — created after the 2020 election — erects unconstitutional voting restrictions, especially against mail-in ballots. They further explain that Florida’s law, like others of its kind, also has a discriminatory impact on minority voters.
In today’s brief, the coalition supports the plaintiffs’ arguments that SB 90 creates barriers to voting in violation of the Voting Rights Act and the right to vote as protected by the U.S. Constitution in the First, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments.
“Voting is one of the most important and sacred things we do as Americans. Florida is making it harder for people to exercise their constitutional right to vote when they should be making it easier,” Attorney General Tong said. “Florida’s law is part of a nationwide right-wing voter suppression campaign designed to undermine public participation and trust in our elections. It must be struck down, and the integrity of our elections must be preserved.”
Florida’s 2020 election saw high voter turnout, with a surge of participation by a young and diverse electorate. In the wake of the election, however, Florida passed SB 90. Among other things, the law severely reduces access to vote-by-mail drop boxes, makes it difficult for voters to get assistance returning their mail-in ballots, and requires that voters more frequently re-request to vote by mail.
Following the law’s passage, three lawsuits were filed in opposition: Florida Rising Together v. Lee; Florida State Conference of Branches and Youth Units of the NAACP, Common Cause, and Disability Rights Florida v. Lee; and League of Women Voters of Florida v. Lee.
In the brief, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James and District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine, and filed in all three cases in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, the coalition supports the plaintiffs, who argue that SB 90 has discriminatory impacts on minority voters in Florida, that it was passed with the intent to discriminate, and that the law burdens the fundamental right to vote. The brief also asserts that these claims deserve a full hearing at trial and that summary judgment — which the defendants are asking for — is not warranted. The coalition additionally argues that it is possible to pursue free and fair elections while expanding voter opportunity in ways that do not risk malfeasance, maladministration, or fraud.
Today's briefs can be found here, here and here.
Joining Attorneys General Tong, James, and Racine in filing this brief are the attorneys general of California, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
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