Florida lawyers respond as DOJ intervenes in voting rights lawsuit.
Federal Judge Denies Attempts to Keep Justice Department Out of Florida Voting Lawsuit
A federal judge has denied attempts by Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd and other Florida election supervisors to prevent the Justice Department from getting involved in a lawsuit concerning the state’s voting laws.
Judge Allen Winsor in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida ruled against the defendants’ motion to dismiss a “statement of interest” by the DOJ.
However, Judge Winsor has allowed the defendants to respond to the statement of interest by July 29, offering them an opportunity to present their arguments. This decision came as an alternative to striking the DOJ’s statement of interest, as proposed by the lawyers representing Byrd and the other parties involved.
In their motion to strike the DOJ’s filing, the defendants argued that the DOJ does not have the right to intervene in the case, regardless of its interests.
“Neither the local rules nor Section 517 permits the United States to do whatever it believes ‘the interests of the United States’ require. It cannot file briefs or motions, introduce evidence, examine witnesses, or initiate appeals whenever it pleases – no matter what ‘the interests of the United States’ dictate. Under its authority to ensure an orderly proceeding conducted in compliance with the rules, this Court should strike the filing,” the filing from the defendants stated.
The lawsuit, brought by Vote.org, the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, and Florida State Conference of Branches and Youth Units of the NAACP, aims to challenge the requirement for certain individuals to physically sign their name with a pen on paper when registering to vote in Florida.
The defendants are seeking to have the case dismissed on the grounds of lack of jurisdiction and failure to state a claim in the lawsuit.
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