Challenging Florida’s Restrictive Ballot Initiative Law (FloridaRighttoCleanWater. org v. Byrd)

FloridaRighttoCleanWater.org, which is the sponsor of an ongoing ballot initiative effort in Florida, and an affected individual are challenging a new Florida law, HB 1205, which creates enormous and unconstitutional barriers to successfully getting a state constitutional amendment placed on the ballot.

Florida’s state constitution gives the people of the state the right to place, upon collecting the required number of signatures, constitutional amendments on the ballot for voters’ consideration. Dozens of amendments have been adopted through this direct democracy mechanism.

But HB 1205 seeks to undermine this process by banning entire groups of people from participating in the petition advocacy process, including legal U.S. residents who aren’t citizens, people with felony convictions who have not had their right to vote restored, and out-of-state residents. The law also imposes fines and criminal penalties on sponsors and petition circulators who fail to meet the law’s exacting requirements.

HB 1205 also makes it a felony for petition circulators to violate several restrictions on petition circulator eligibility and petition handling. But those provisions are so vaguely worded that it is unclear what conduct is and is not prohibited by the law.

CLC, on behalf of its clients, intervened in a lawsuit about HB 1205 in a federal district court in Florida to challenge these and other provisions. 

What’s at stake?

The Supreme Court has said — in Meyer v. Grant — that engaging in petition circulation is “core political speech” protected by the First Amendment. The Court also recognized that laws that impose burdens on petition circulation, including restrictions on who is permitted to collect signatures, restrict speech.

HB 1205 is exactly the kind of law the court warned about in Meyer. It places severe burdens on the people’s right to advocate for changes they support and to associate with others who share their beliefs.

HB 1205 also excludes and demeans certain groups of people, including legal permanent residents, by banning them from engaging in this kind of speech entirely.

By enacting HB 1205, the state Legislature is attempting to limit the power that the state constitution gives to voters through the petition process. This bill is an attack on Floridians’ First Amendment, equal protection and due process rights.