U.S. appeals court upholds Florida voting law that judge found discriminatory

Joseph Ax, Reuters

A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld several Republican-backed voting restrictions in Florida, overruling a lower court judge who had found the laws intentionally discriminated against minority voters.

In a split 2-1 decision, a panel of judges at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the evidence did not show that lawmakers deliberately targeted Black voters when they passed provisions limiting the use of ballot drop boxes, barring third-party organizations from collecting voter registration forms and preventing people from engaging with voters in line.

Governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to launch a bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination next month, signed the restrictions into law in 2021, amid a national push by Republicans for new limits in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s false claims of voter fraud following his defeat to Joe Biden

Several civil rights groups challenged the law in court. In March 2022, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker in Tallahassee had struck down most of the law as racially discriminatory.

Keep reading about the ruling here.

Republican lawmakers have been prioritizing discriminatory voting laws for years.

Keep up on breaking news here!