Carolina Wassmer, the Florida director of a nonprofit focused on bolstering Latino political influence, expressed concerns on Tuesday that her organization could face significant setbacks if a court upholds the state’s effort to bar noncitizens nationwide from participating in voter registration activities in Florida.
The restriction, outlined in the recently enacted Florida law SB7050, faced a federal court-ordered emergency injunction last July. Despite the injunction, the state is appealing the ruling, and oral arguments are slated for Thursday before the 11th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals in Atlanta.
A considerable number of long-time Florida residents are lawful permanent residents, and while not citizens, they engage in civic activities like assisting with voter registration or supporting political campaigns as part of their journey toward U.S. citizenship or understanding the U.S. government.
Wassmer explained that the injunction has enabled Poder Latinx to continue its work, utilizing experienced staff who understand the importance of voting, even though they are unable to vote themselves.
Under the law, legal permanent residents must typically wait five years before becoming eligible for U.S. citizenship. However, the provision imposes a $50,000 per person penalty for any noncitizen handling voter registration forms.
Should the injunction be lifted, Wassmer fears that Poder Latinx would need a complete restructuring, causing significant harm to their program.
Mark Ard, a spokesperson for the Florida Secretary of State’s office, declined to comment on the ongoing litigation. NBC News has also reached out to the state’s attorney general’s office for comment.
The injunction blocking the voter registration restriction resulted from a lawsuit filed by the Hispanic Federation, a national Latino advocacy group. The organization is challenging various parts of the Republican-sponsored law along with other groups, with the case scheduled for trial in April.
Frankie Miranda, president and CEO of the Hispanic Federation, highlighted the challenges faced by community-based organizations in registering people to vote due to the new provision. He pointed out that communities of color are disproportionately affected, registering four to five times more through nonpartisan groups than their white counterparts.
Frederick Vélez, a spokesperson for the Hispanic Federation, noted a decrease in voter registration numbers by third-party groups since 2021 when Florida began implementing voter restriction laws.
While state officials argue that the law aims to streamline the registration process and prevent noncitizens from voting, Miranda contends that the law lacks a connection between the identified problem and the proposed solution. This sentiment echoes the federal judge’s finding when issuing the injunction. Judge Mark Walker stated that Florida had identified a problem with timely submission of voter registration applications but had failed to establish a connection between the problem and the proposed solution during the hearing.