42 Florida and National Groups Sign Letter Asking Gov. Crist to Veto Anti-Voter Bills

SB 956 & HB 7149 Would Add Barriers to Voting for Floridians

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: media@aclu.org

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In what is possibly the largest collection of groups to ever come together on a single matter of public policy, 42 groups today sent a letter to Governor Crist urging him to veto SB 956 and HB 7149 if they make it to his desk. The diverse assemblage is made up of local and national groups representing civil rights, voting rights, people with disabilities, human services, the elderly, gay and lesbian rights, social justice, veterans and the environment.

The bills, which are being railroaded through the legislative process with practically no public input, are the biggest attack on voting rights that Florida has seen in many years. They would further disfranchise disabled voters, make voter registration more difficult, force more voters to vote on provisional ballots, further restrict acceptable IDs for registration and voting, impede Election Protection voter education programs by expanding the "no-solicitation" zone, increase the purging of eligible voters from voter rolls, limit the Governor's ability to extend early voting, and more.

The full text of the letter is below, and can be downloaded in PDF version here: www.aclufl.org/pdfs/LetterToGovernorCrist_22April09.pdf