Federal judge rules Florida can't ban noncitizens from registering voters

A federal judge handed Latino and civil rights groups a victory when he struck down a provision in a Florida state law that would have barred noncitizens from registering voters in time for the 2024 election.

Chief U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker determined Friday that a provision in Florida's SB 7050 assessing a $50,000 fine for each noncitizen found to be "collecting or handling voter registration applications" violates constitutional equal protection rights. The ban covered people with legal permanent residency or green cards.

An estimated 1.3 million lawful permanent residents live in Florida, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Many of them often engage in civic activities such as help with voter registration or supporting campaigns as part of their journeys to become U.S. citizens or to learn about U.S. government.

An emergency injunction issued last year had blocked Florida from enforcing the state law, allowing organizations to retain field staff members who were noncitizens.

The injunction was an important win at the time considering that Latinos and communities of color in general are more likely to register to vote through nonpartisan groups than their white counterparts.

Voter registrations through third-party groups have been dropping since 2021 as Florida has been enacting voter restriction laws, according to the Hispanic Federation, a national Latino advocacy organization.

Walker's decision Friday stems from a federal lawsuit filed last year by the Hispanic Federation and Poder Latinx, a progressive group aimed at registering and turning out Latino voters, along with three noncitizen plaintiffs.

They were represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and four other legal