Bill Impacting the Role Non-Citizens Play in Florida Voter Registration Efforts Passes State House and Senate Chambers, Poder Latinx Reacts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2023
CONTACT:
Jackie Smith | 989-576-1996 jsmith@poderlatinx.org
Bill Impacting the Role Non-Citizens Play in Florida Voter Registration Efforts Passes State House and Senate Chambers, Poder Latinx Reacts
ORLANDO, FL - As of today, the Florida House and Senate have passed Senate Bill 7050, an election-reform bill, presenting several proposed changes to the state’s Elections Code. One of the provisions includes restrictions and penalties for third-party voter registration organizations (3PVROS), of which there are nearly 2,000 active 3PVROs registered in Florida. This bill includes a provision in which the individuals collecting or handling voter registration applications on behalf of a 3PVRO must be a citizen of the United States. A violation of this could result in an organization being fined $50,000 for each non-citizen handling voter registrations. It would also create a shorter timeline for a voter registration group to return completed forms to county elections offices after they’ve been filled out by a potential voter, and a daily late fee of $50 per late application.
Currently, 1 out of every 10 Latinx voters in Florida is registered by third-party voter registration organizations.
“SB 7050 is yet another attack on immigrants coming from the state of Florida. The provisions in this bill- not allowing residents, DACA recipients, or recipients of Temporary Protected Status to conduct voter registration is appalling and will detrimentally impact our ability to help register Florida’s Latinx voters. 10% of registered Latinx voters have been registered through organizations like ours- what will our community do without us? Immigrants who do this work provide a unique service- informing the community on how to register to vote in the language that they understand best. Not to mention that fines established by this bill could cause organizations to close, removing services from communities across Florida, ” said Yadira Sanchez, Executive Director of Poder Latinx. “This is just another of Governor DeSantis’ plans to garner attention ahead of his presidential race, avoiding the harmful impacts his policies will have on Florida and beyond. We have seen a pattern with various ideas that stem from Florida, unfortunately other states will follow this initiative and we need to be aware as voters and community members of how these proposed laws and political ideas will impact our community.”
“I work alongside many noncitizens who do critical voter registration work, and their commitment to the Latinx community here in Florida is unmatched. Many of these hardworking people have come to our country inspired by our democracy and love empowering those who are eligible to vote and have spent years learning the ins and outs of voter registration and many have even begun learning in order to continue this work. Because of the nature of Latinx voter registration efforts, being able to hire people with TPS, DACA, residency, or classifications other than citizenship has allowed us to hire Spanish speaking staff who can communicate the most effectively with their community. Not only will SB 7050 hurt those who have grown to love this work and depend on the income, but it will also be detrimental to the communities we serve who depend on having trustworthy organizations and staff who can help them in their language,” said Cristal Guzman, Florida Senior Lead of Poder Latinx.
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Poder Latinx is dedicated to building a sustained progressive voting bloc of Latinx voters in key states across the country.