The Republican Party of Florida announced Wednesday it has filed a motion to intervene in several federal lawsuits brought by special interest groups challenging HB 1205, which aims to increase integrity and transparency in Florida’s citizen initiative constitutional amendment process.
"These election integrity measures prevent fraud, ensure that petition signatures are valid and authentic, and provide greater information to voters about proposed amendments to Florida’s Constitution being pushed through the citizen initiative process," Florida GOP Chairman Evan Power said in a release.
"By seeking to intervene in these lawsuits, the RPOF is affirming its commitment to defending Florida’s election integrity laws that have made Florida the nation’s ‘gold standard’ for election integrity and election administration," Power added.
According to Florida Republicans, four political committees filed lawsuits challenging HB 1205.
They include Florida Decides Healthcare, which looks to amend the Florida Constitution to expand Medicaid coverage, and Smart & Safe Florida, which seeks to amend the state Constitution to legalize recreational marijuana.
The League of Women Voters and FloridaRighttoCleanWater.org also filed.
Rep. Jenna Persons Mulicka (R-Fort Myers) originally sponsored HB 1205. It was subsequently passed in the Florida Legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The law took effect on May 2.
As it stands, the law does several things. They include the following:
- Requires paid and volunteer petition circulators to be registered in Florida
- Requires petition circulators to be U.S. Citizens and Florida residents
- Bans convicted felons from being petition circulators, unless their right to vote has been restored
- Prohibits petition circulators from being compensated based on the number of signatures collected
"Whether you as a voter agree or disagree with the individual policies being pushed by citizen initiative groups, we should all agree that voters have a right to complete information and that the process for putting proposed amendments to our State Constitution on the ballot should be valid and legitimate," Power concluded.
