<x-flowed>thought some of you might be interested in this editorial that ran in today's miami herald.
dan


VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVES TARGETED
OUR OPINION: REPEAL ONEROUS RULES PUNISHING NONPARTISAN GROUPS
Miami Herald -- June 5, 2006

Filing a lawsuit is usually not the optimal remedy to a problem, but the League of Women Voters of Florida was right to challenge the constitutionality of a truly objectionable provision in an election law approved by the Legislature in 2005.

The provision may have been adopted with good intentions, but it is devastating to organizations that conduct voter-registration drives in the state. It adds yet another blemish to Florida's tarnished reputation when it comes to running free and fair elections. The Legislature should spare the court the time and money of the lawsuit and, most important, protect Florida's new voters by removing this onerous provision.

       Enforcement mystery

The new rule imposes heavy financial penalties on all individuals and organizations -- with the exception of political parties -- that miss the deadline for submitting new voter registrations to election officials. The penalties: $250 fine for each voter registration application submitted more than 10 days after it is collected; $500 for each form delivered after any voter registration deadline; and $5,000 for each application not submitted. How an election supervisor could determine when an application isn't submitted is a mystery.

The Legislature inserted this provision into election legislation after allegations circulated that some groups purposely had held back voter-registration applications supposedly because the new voter had registered with the ''wrong'' political party. There also was concern that partisan groups had suppressed registrations for the same reason. None of this was proved, but that didn't stop lawmakers from adopting the new rules -- for all but political parties.

       Capricious, arbitrary

As a result, the state League of Women Voters in March reluctantly suspended voter-registration drives -- its primary function -- for fear that a late submission or other unintentional violation could bring fines that would decimate its $80,000 annual budget. Along with a handful of unions and other groups that do registration drives, the League filed suit in federal court last month. The groups claim that the law violates their constitutional right to free speech, free association and equal protection by limiting their ability to conduct registration drives. The suit points out that the law targets nonpartisan groups but not political parties.

The author of the provision, state Rep. Ron Reagan, R-Bradenton, defends it. He told The St. Petersburg Times that political parties aren't subject to the law because ''the parties do it right.'' So this means that any party registered in the state of Florida -- including the Surfers Party of Vermont -- is immune if they suppress registrations or turn them in late. The law is capricious and arbitrary and needs to be repealed.




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