- Florida
« Priorities USA et al. Lawsuit on Vote by Mail
Settlement
ed. - Priorities USA and several other groups filed this lawsuit in May 2020 challenging aspects of Florida's vote by mail system. Among other points, they argued the State of Florida should provide pre-paid postage on vote-by-mail ballots and that ballots postmarked by Election Day should be counted. In July, shortly before the case was to go to trial, the plaintiffs agreed to dismissal of the case. Although they did obtain a settlement agreement, the result was seen as a victory for Republicans.
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17185904/nielsen-v-desantis/
Republican National Committee
July 24, 2020
RNC Wins Again in Florida After Democrats Dismiss Radical Case
WASHINGTON – Today, the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, and the Republican Party of Florida were granted a major victory when Priorities USA and the Democrat plaintiffs dismissed every substantive claim in Nielsen v. DeSantis, a radical lawsuit brought in Florida that among other things, sought to force Florida to count ballots that arrive after Election Day and strike down the state’s ban on ballot harvesting."Today’s victory is a win for Florida voters and a win for election integrity. Democrats’ assault on our elections process is not based on fact or reason, which is why they are dismissing every claim in their radical suit. The RNC will continue to step in and fight back against Democrat attempts to circumvent existing law and weaken our elections process.” – RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel
By dismissing this case with prejudice, Democrats are dropping their challenge to circumvent Florida’s ballot harvesting ban, their attempt to allow ballots to arrive after Election Day, and their claim that Florida needs to provide pre-paid postage on vote-by-mail ballots.
The weakness of their case was particularly highlighted in this deposition, where a Yale University student tried to claim he was disenfranchised by having to travel to a post office to mail back his ballot – even though there was a mailbox in front of his house or a post office six blocks from his house.
- QUESTION: "Are you aware that you can put your mail in a mailbox and the postal service will pick it up?"
- ANSWER: "No, there is nowhere to place mail anywhere near my mailbox."
- QUESTION: "Are you aware that the postal service website gives you several options which allows them to pick your mail up wherever you are?"
- ANSWER: "No."
- "Before the November 2020 General Election, the Secretary shall undertake a social media or other public relation campaign to inform voters of the three available options to vote in Florida: (1) vote-by-mail, (2) early in-person voting, and (3) in-person Election Day voting"
- "The campaign shall also highlight safeguards designed to protect the integrity of Florida elections."
Today’s election victory comes on the heels of a major win in the case, when the Clinton-appointed judge denied Democrat attorneys’ motion for preliminary injunction stating that "the plaintiffs have not shown likely success on the merits" of their case. In this denial, Judge Hinkle specifically noted that counting ballots that arrive after Election Day could leave room for vulnerabilities or fraud. Seeing the writing on the wall that they could not succeed with even a liberal judge, the Democrats folded their cards.
- By requiring receipt on or before Election Day, "This eliminates the problem of missing, unclear, or even altered postmarks, eliminates delay that can have adverse consequences, and eliminates the remote possibility that in an extremely close election—Florida has had some—a person who did not vote on or before election day can fill out and submit a ballot later."
Background:
The RNC continues to fight back against the Democrats’ assault on the integrity of our elections by intervening in left-wing backed lawsuits across the country. Recently, the RNC was handed another major victory when we voluntary dismissed a case in California after defeating Governor Newsom’s unconstitutional Executive Order that would destroy California’s election integrity. Additionally, the RNC intervened to protect election integrity in Minnesota against Democrat attempts to remove ballot deadlines by Election Day and prevent the sending of ballots to inactive voters. The Republicans recently sued Clark County in Nevada for hiding evidence of a shady backroom election deal. The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania also recently handed Republicans a big victory, throwing out a left-wing lawsuit to allow ballots to be counted after Election Day. Similar radical lawsuits are being fought in states like Michigan, New Mexico, and Arizona. The RNC recently doubled its legal budget to $20 million to fight these efforts, and you can learn more at www.ProtectTheVote.com.
Florida GOP Declares Victory: Democrat-Aligned Groups Drop Lawsuit Challenging Florida’s Vote-by-Mail Laws on Eve of Trial
The Republican Party of Florida intervened in this lawsuit in May along with the Republican National Committee and National Republican Congressional Committee to help defend Florida’s laws that ensure the safety and security of vote-by-mail. Among other things, the Democrat-aligned organizations were attempting to have Florida’s ban on paid vote-by-mail ballot harvesting declared unconstitutional; to require supervisors of elections to count vote-by-mail ballots received after election day; and to require the state to provide pre-paid postage on all vote-by-mail ballots. After the Republicans defeated the Democrat-aligned organizations’ attempt at a preliminary injunction last month, the organizations decided to settle the case in order to avoid an even worse loss at trial.
RPOF Chairman Joe Gruters, said, “Floridians choosing to vote-by-mail must have confidence that their vote will be safe and secure. RPOF intervened in this lawsuit to protect Florida’s vote-by-mail safeguards that were under attack by Democrat special interests. We are glad that the Democrat-aligned organizations finally saw the light and dropped their lawsuit. We are pleased Florida’s strong laws will remain in place for 2020 when Florida reelects President Trump.”
The consolidated case is: Nielsen v. DeSantis Case No. 4:20-cv-236-RH and Dream Defenders v. DeSantis, Case No. 1:20-cv-67-RH.
July 20, 2020
Priorities USA Announces Settlement Agreement in Florida Vote By Mail Legal Challenge
Today, Priorities USA announced a
settlement agreement with Florida
officials on a lawsuit that challenged
multiple provisions of the state’s
restrictive vote by mail laws. The
suit was filed with the Florida
Alliance for Retired Americans,
Alianza for Progress, Inc., and
several individual voters.
The measures outlined in today’s
settlement will ensure that Florida
makes notable investments in election
administration that helps local
citizens overcome the unnecessary
barriers to vote by mail amid the
current global health crisis. The
settlement will also ensure that
existing laws will not further
disenfranchise marginalized
communities who are most impacted by
the coronavirus. This includes
exploring the use of federal
coronavirus relief to provide prepaid
postage for mail ballots and
encouraging an increase in the number
of early voting sites across the
state.
Through the settlement, state
officials have also agreed to:
- Conduct workshops with elections officials on the implementation of mail barcode and intelligent ballot tracking by November so that voters can know when their ballot has been delivered to polling places.
- Conduct a campaign to educate voters about best practices for voting by mail, including steps for voters to follow to ensure mail ballots are timely received by election officials.
- Develop a document for elections officials to inform voters who cannot afford return postage that drop boxes are available or they may mail the ballot without postage or drop the ballot off at the Elections Office.
- Install ballot drop boxes at polling stations during early voting and Election Day with a permanent box at the Elections office. If a polling place does not have a drop box, adequate signage to one will be provided.
- Expand voter outreach and registration in Spanish and English to specifically target eligible unregistered voters, senior citizens, college students, and communities of color through discussions and community engagement.
- Encourage expansion of the number of early voting sites to allow for social distancing and encourage an increase of the number of early voting days to the maximum allowed by law.
- Contact Florida citizens
throughout the state who are
eligible to vote but have not
registered to invite them to
register and to inform them of the
different methods of voting
available to them.
“The provisions outlined in this
settlement are just some of the
investments needed to ensure that
Floridians are not forced to choose
between risking their lives and
casting a ballot,” said Guy Cecil,
Chairman of Priorities USA. “The
settlement establishes a set of
commitments by Florida election
officials to expand voting rights and
opportunities across the state. But
there is more work to do and we will
continue to challenge the state of
Florida and to fight the anti-voting
rights Republican National Committee
to make sure everyone can vote in
November.”
“The settlement moves the needle
forward for communities most affected
by COVID19 by requiring the state to
work harder to make sure vote by mail
is handled efficiently and that people
of color and the elderly are not
disenfranchised when voting by mail,”
said Marcos Vilar, Executive Director
of Alianza for Progress. “We did not
get all that we asked for, but we’ve
moved the ball forward. We’ll continue
to work on making sure every vote
counts and removing barriers this
administration has sought to limit our
right to vote, especially during a
pandemic.”
“This agreement is a victory for all
eligible older voters in Florida,”
said Richard Fiesta, executive
director of the Alliance for Retired
Americans. “As a direct result of this
suit, every Florida voter who needs to
can cast a vote by mail and know that
it will be counted. Florida’s COVID-19
cases continue to surge. It is
essential that seniors avoid standing
in long lines and avoid unnecessary
risk while they exercise their right
vote.”