NEWS FLASH

Florida Takes Aim At The Voting Rights Act To Bolster Anti-Voter Law | Earlier this year, Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) signed a law aggressively cutting back on Floridian’s ability to register to vote and to vote early. Under a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, the law cannot go into effect in many Florida counties until it is “precleared” by either the Department of Justice or a federal court in DC. Moreover, because the law disproportionately impacts minorities, it will have a tough time surviving scrutiny under the Voting Rights Act. Rather than accept his state’s obligation to comply with the law, however, Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning has an alternative strategy — suing to have part of the Voting Rights Act declared unconstitutional. Florida is the second state to take this tactic after Arizona filed a similar suit in August.