Federal Judge Bars State from Sending Additional Voter Data to Presidential Commission

A federal judge has barred the State of Florida from sending voter data to Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity beyond the bare minimum allowed under Florida law. In a hearing earlier in July in federal court in Miami, U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke ordered Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner not to send the Commission any data that goes beyond what is publicly available under Florida law.

Responding to the court’s decision, ACLU of Florida legal director Nancy Abudu, who attended the hearing, stated:

“We are pleased that the court acted swiftly in ensuring that Florida’s chief election official maintains the privacy of voter information, which is protected from disclosure under state law.

“We look forward to arguing the merits of this case before the court and exposing the real motivation behind this Commission: to substantiate President Trump’s and Kris Kobach’s wild and unverified accusations of the existence of rampant voter fraud, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.”

While the court ordered Detzner not to send additional voter information, the court declined to issue a restraining order preventing the Commission’s scheduled meeting tomorrow, which plaintiffs had challenged as operating outside the legal parameters for a presidential commission. The court is expected to issue a written order tomorrow. Plai

ntiffs in the lawsuit are: the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida, Former State Senator Arthenia Joyner, Tampa City Councilman Mike Suarez; Broward County voter Joshua A. Simmons; Miami-Dade County voter Brenda Shapiro; Miami-Dade County Voter Luis Meurice; and the Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC). Plaintiffs are represented by: Benedict Kuehne and Michael T. Davis of Kuehne Davis Law, P.A.; Nancy Abudu, legal director of the ACLU of Florida; H.K. Skip Pita, of Pita Weber Del Prado; Jason B. Blank of Haber Blank, LLP; Marc A. Burton and Daniel J. Poterek of The Burton Firm, P.A.; Larry S. Davis and Shana Korda of the Law Office of Larry S. Davis, P.A.; Freddy Funes, Jarred L. Reiling, Gerald Greenberg, and Adam Schachter of Gelber, Shachter & Greenberg, P.A.; and Joseph S. Geller of Greenspoon Marder, P.A.

More information about the lawsuit is available here: https://aclufl.org/2017/07/10/coalition-of-voting-rights-leaders-and-florida-voters-sue-presidential-commission-over-request-for-voter-information/

Contact: ACLU of Florida Media Office, (786) 363-2737, media@aclufl.org