Nightmare for Florida lawmakers, Gov. DeSantis: Judge struck down a controversial election law
Florida – A federal judge threw out one of the most controversial restrictions in Florida’s new election law, but the rest of the law remains in effect. The case is about SB 7050, a broad bill that Republican lawmakers pushed for in 2023. It made deadlines shorter, penalties more severe, and imposed new rules for entities that help people register to vote.
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker’s ruling on Friday focuses on a specific part of the legislation that said noncitizens couldn’t handle voter registration forms. Walker said that the provision was “facially discriminatory” against lawful permanent residents and broke the 14th Amendment’s protection of equal treatment. His decision protects one worker, Colombian-born canvasser Humberto Orjuela Prieto, and his employer, the advocacy group UnidosUS, from repercussions under the law.
The court’s order stops enforcement for these plaintiffs, although it only applies to a small group. Walker did not issue a broad statewide injunction because of a recent U.S. Supreme Court case, Trump v. CASA, Inc. This means that the rest of the law’s provisions, many of which critics claim would make it more difficult for people to register to vote, are still in effect and can be enforced.
In April 2023, Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 7050 into law. That was the same day he started his candidacy for president. It changed the rules for elections in a number of ways. For example, it cut the time voters had to return completed registration forms from 14 days to 10 days, raised fines for late or misdirected applications, banned certain uses of collected voter information, and barred some people, including noncitizens and certain felons, from participating in registration activities. The law also established steep penalties, allowing fines up to $50,000 for violations.
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A group of civil rights and voting rights groups, such as the NAACP Florida Conference, the League of Women Voters of Florida, Disability Rights Florida, the Alianza Center, and the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, filed a lawsuit almost directly after the law was passed. They said that the reforms would hurt young voters, minority groups, and those with disabilities more than they would help them. The Secretary of State Cord Byrd, the Attorney General Ashley Moody, and all 67 county election supervisors were named as defendants in their case.
Walker threw down most of the plaintiffs’ arguments, saying they hadn’t shown that the tighter deadlines, heavier fines, or limits on who can ask for mail-in ballots on behalf of others had caused them an obvious and immediate harm. He did, however, say that Florida didn’t explain why it was wrong to keep lawful permanent residents from registering to vote, especially as UnidosUS had a workforce that was nearly 70% noncitizen. For Orjuela Prieto, whether or not the law was followed meant the difference between retaining his job and losing it.
Walker said that the public doesn’t want to enforce an unlawful restriction, and that going after legal residents just because of their citizenship status doesn’t meet constitutional requirements.
Secretary Cord Byrd called the verdict on X “another big win” for the state because most of SB 7050 stayed in place after the court challenge. He claimed that the only thing left to fight on appeal is the citizenship limit.
In another big win for the @FLSecofState Judge Walker rules in favor of the state on SB7050 and the regulation of third party voter registration organizations. The final issue for appeal is the requirement that only citizens can collect voter registration forms. pic.twitter.com/FY6pcjxd5j
— Cord Byrd (@CordByrd) August 8, 2025
The plaintiffs could appeal the dismissal of their other claims, and the state could challenge the injunction on the noncitizen rule. For now, the result keeps much of Florida’s new voting system in place, but one important part is on hold for those directly involved in the case.
