Gov. Ron DeSantis and his minions have perfected the art of bending and/or dispensing with the rule of law and long-held democratic norms in ways that have enabled Republicans to keep control of the state’s political levers.
During just about every news cycle, especially during legislative sessions, we see our high-handed chief executive belittling critics, sneering at perceived enemies, and rewarding his friends.
In their quest for unbridled power, Florida Republicans have wielded their immense political power in a multiplicity of ways to subvert the will of the people.
For example, Florida voters have long been able to use the citizens’ initiative process to bypass the Republican-dominated Legislature and advance progressive policies such as raising the minimum wage, legalizing medical marijuana, and restoring the voting rights of people with felony convictions.
Senate Bill 7050, which became law in 2023, illustrates DeSantis’ political tactics, using voter suppression to discourage Democratic and primarily Black and brown voters from being able to fully participate in the electoral process. Not doing this would leave them vulnerable to voters who would likely chase them out of office.
As the Florida Phoenix’s Michael Moline noted in a 2023 story imagining a handbook for autocracy: “… Republican-run states these days are experimenting with ways to disenfranchise Democratic constituencies, stack the courts against progressive initiatives, and cement their control over this country one state at a time. The dust cover could feature the smiling mug of Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, the Republican presidential candidate who since the Black Lives Matter summer three years ago has pushed an ever-more-reactionary campaign against marginalized communities, not least at the voting booth.”
A representative of the Elias Law Group pointed to the damage from the 2023 restrictions on third-party voter registration campaigns.
“Third-party voter registration organizations play a critical role in ensuring that every eligible Floridian has an opportunity to vote, especially Black and Brown Floridians,” said partner Abha Khanna. “These organizations have helped register roughly a quarter of a million Florida voters since 2018, yet they now find their important work under assault by Governor DeSantis and the Florida Legislature. SB 7050 threatens to disrupt and discourage these organizations from helping marginalized Floridians register to vote.”
However, the federal judge in Tallahassee recently allowed the state to enforce most of the law’s provisions pending completion of the litigation.
After observing the success of that law, DeSantis and Republicans set their sights on defanging that citizen initiative petition-gathering process, imposing a slew of burdensome constraints and penalties for organizations doing that work.
Lawmakers argue the petition restrictions are needed to reform a process they claim has been tainted by fraud. The Legislature pushed HB 1205 through months after Florida voters supported ballot initiatives to protect abortion rights and legalize recreational marijuana, although the measures fell short of the 60% needed to pass. The governor signed the bill into law on May 5.
This year’s HB 1205 contains a raft of requirements that gum up the petition process. For example, those gathering signatures, whether paid or volunteer, must be registered with the Division of Elections beginning July 1. Petition circulators must be Florida residents and U.S. citizens. Convicted felons are barred from doing that job unless their right to vote has been restored.
In addition, the law prohibits anyone who has “not registered as a petition circulator from possessing more than 25 signed petition forms in addition to his or her own signed form or one belonging to an immediate family member.”
Other provisions in HB 1205 include the demand that voters signing the form must provide a “current or valid Florida driver license and valid Florida identification card number, plus the last four digits of his or her social security number.” The signer must affirm that he/she has not been convicted of a felony, or, if they have, they have had their right to vote restored. Lastly, the applicant must affirm that he or she is a U.S. citizen and a Florida resident.”
The law imposes fines for petitions delivered to a supervisor of elections after the deadline. Fines increase from a $50 fee for each late petition form to $50 for each day it’s late, up to a total fine of up to $2,500 for each tardy petition form. If the sponsor or petition circulator acted willfully, the bill increases the penalty from $250 for each petition form to $2,500.
The law also creates a new fine for forms collected before the Feb. 1 deadline but submitted after that date. Each form received by a supervisor after the deadline results in a $100 fine for each day late, up to $5,000, and if the sponsor or petition circulator acted willfully, $5,000 for each late form.
Meanwhile, the deadline for submitting petitions has been shortened from 30 days to 10 days.
Groups involved in gathering petitions point to the deleterious effects the law has already had since DeSantis signed it into law on May 2. Florida Decides Healthcare says circulation has dropped 88% since then, and Smart and Safe Florida, a group advocating for the legalization of marijuana, says costs of securing petitions have ratcheted up 370% while signature gathering has plummeted from 78,000 a week to 12,000.
A representative from the Elias Law Group pointed to the damage from the 2023 restrictions on third-party voter registration campaigns.
Many of the affected organizations are devising ways around the new provisions, while other groups, like Smart & Safe Florida, are doubling down on their efforts to get enough signatures to put issues of concern to the public on the ballot.
They are busy working to get another measure on the ballot in 2026. In a court filing, Smart & Safe Florida officials characterized the new restrictions as “legislative gaslighting,” designed not to block fraud but to “effectively destroy the people’s right to invoke the citizen initiative.”
Critics contend that the new hurdles would make it prohibitively expensive and effectively impossible for grassroots campaigners to place measures on the ballot.
“This bill is not about improving the ballot initiative process. It attacks the fundamental freedom of Floridians to participate in their own democracy,” said Florida Decides Executive Director Mitch Emerson. “It is a calculated and cowardly attempt by politicians in Tallahassee to rewrite the rules — not to serve the people, but to protect their own power.”
Emerson estimates the new law will mean millions of dollars in additional costs for his campaign in complying with new requirements and hiring more paid circulators to make up for volunteers who back out for fear of legal liability.
“Volunteers are second-guessing whether they can legally help. Communities are confused. And that’s exactly what the law was designed to do: to sow confusion and try to shut down engagement before it starts,” he said.
Emerson said Florida Decides had collected about 100,000 signatures to date in its push to bank 880,000 verified petitions ahead of a Feb. 1 deadline.
Obama-appointee Chief U.S. District Court Judge Mark Walker will determine whether DeSantis has unfairly manipulated the ability of Floridians seeking to continue to have access to direct democracy.