A federal judge Wednesday approved a request by the Republican Party of Florida to help defend a new law that places additional restrictions on the state’s ballot-initiative process.
The party on Tuesday filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of the law, which was passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature on May 2 and quickly signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The law is one in a series of steps that Republican leaders have taken to make it harder to pass constitutional amendments — and came after fierce fights in 2024 about ballot proposals on recreational marijuana and abortion. Supporters of the law’s restrictions have contended that they are needed to prevent fraud, particularly in the petition-gathering process for initiatives.
“The court’s resolution of the important questions here will have significant implications for RPOF (the Republican Party of Florida) — and its members, candidates, voters, and resources —
as RPOF continues its work to ensure that Florida’s citizen initiative process is lawful and free from fraud,” lawyers for the party wrote in a legal memo Tuesday supporting the request to intervene.
Florida Decides Healthcare, a political committee seeking to pass a constitutional amendment to expand Medicaid coverage, filed the lawsuit May 4 in U.S. district court in Tallahassee. The lawsuit named as defendants Secretary of State Cord Byrd, Attorney General James Uthmeier, county supervisors of elections and state attorneys.
Smart & Safe Florida, a political committee making a renewed attempt to pass a recreational-marijuana amendment in 2026, and FloridaRighttoCleanWater.org, which wants to pass an amendment about water quality, have intervened to support the legal challenge.
The law, for example, shortens from 30 to 10 days the length of time to submit signed petitions to supervisors of elections. In addition, it includes hefty fines for petitions that are filed late and makes it a felony for petition gatherers to retain voters’ personal information on petitions or make changes to completed petitions. Groups accused of “substantial irregularities” in the petition process could face racketeering charges.
The plaintiffs last week asked Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker for a preliminary injunction to block parts of the law. Among other things, they argued restrictions in the law unconstitutionally “chill” political speech.
Walker had not ruled on the preliminary injunction request as of Wednesday morning. He issued a three-page order, however, that granted the Republican Party’s request to intervene.
In the request, party lawyers cited the GOP’s opposition to past ballot initiatives, including the 2024 proposals to allow recreational marijuana use and to put abortion rights in the state Constitution. DeSantis spearheaded opposition to those proposals, which fell short of receiving the required 60 percent voter approval to pass.
The intervention request also indicated the party would oppose efforts to pass proposed amendments on Medicaid expansion and water issues.
“RPOF and many of its members have opposed the initiatives pushed by plaintiff (Florida Decides Healthcare) and intervenor-plaintiffs on a policy basis, as they conflict with the values and policies that Republican voters want in Florida’s Constitution,” the party’s legal memo said. “The RPOF’s interest in this case goes beyond just the policy initiatives of plaintiff and intervenor-plaintiffs in
this case. Even individual Republican voters and candidates who may support (and vote in favor of) plaintiff and intervenor-plaintiffs’ constitutional policy initiatives, still have an interest in ensuring that the state’s election integrity laws relating to Florida’s citizens’ initiative process are upheld and the process for gaining access to Florida’s ballot is one that is free from fraud or abuse.”
The legal memo also alleged that Democrats use such proposals to drive voter turnout.
“RPOF has interests — its own and those of its members — in how Florida’s citizen initiative process is structured and how it is used by third party groups and the Democratic Party in an attempt to negatively influence the election of Republicans throughout the state,” the GOP’s lawyers argued.
–Jim Saunders, News Service of Florida
Dusty says
About 55 percent of voters voted yes on the proposition so perhaps they should focus on lowering the approval requirement to a simple majority as the measure is already approved by a majority.
Joe D says
Dusty,
In PRIOR elections, it WAS a simple majority on Citizens ballot questions. However, our Illustrious current Governor..made sure the law was changed ( thanks to his “rubber stamp” legislature) to increase the majority vote requirement to 60%, and made such “high bar” time limits and petition requirements, that Florida could conceivably NEVER have another CITIZEN petition approved for the ballot ( under the current new RESTRICTIVE RULES).
We get the government representatives we vote for people…