A big bump in the road toward changing Florida’s early voting laws.

A federal judge today has denied the preliminary injunction sought by Congresswoman Corrine Brown and a number of other African American and Democratic leaders in Duval County.  The denial means Florida’s early voting law will stand for November, although Judge Timothy Corrigan did leave the door open for further action after the general election.

The plaintiff’s filed the lawsuit claiming the changes to Florida’s early voting laws discriminate against minority voters.  The changes reduce the number of early voting days from no fewer than 12 days to 8, and at special issue for the plaintiff’s was removing the Sunday immediately before Election Day.  The total number of hours- 96- remains unchanged.  Under the previous law, counties were required to hold 8 hours of early voting on the weekend, however it was up to the local supervisor to decide how to distribute those hours.  The new law now requires early voting on two Saturdays and a Sunday.

In the ruling, Corrigan says the new law will not “impermissibly burden the ability of African Americans to vote.” 

He further says the plaintiffs failed to show they will be likely to prove the law changes  were made with the intent to discriminate, or that the current law as it operates does discriminate.

Although the preliminary injunction has been denied, Corrigan says this doesn’t mean the lawsuit is necessarily over.  He allowed both parties until December 14, 2012 to enhance their cases and decide how to proceed.

Duval Supervisor of Elections weighs in

Duval Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland said they can use statistics from this election to decide whether they want to move ahead with the case again.

"What they'll have to go back and look is: Was there less African Americans voting because of the change?  How many people took advantage of the twelve hour day of Sunday instead of two," he said.

"So they'll have two presidential elections to compare to.  And so that may either facilitate their claim or may p ut it to a final rest once they see the outcome of this election."

He said Duval is going to have eight days of early voting lasting twelve hours each.  They'll run from Saturday, October 27 to the following Saturday, November 3.

That totals 96 hours of early voting, the same number of early voting before the new Florida early voting law.

"We really think it will really be an opportunity for more people to take advantage of it," Holland said.

"And the reason we say that is - and I think even the judge recognized that - is that people will be able to early vote going to work or coming home from work.  And it actually allows more hours on a Sunday than the combined two Sundays they had in the previous law."

He said his office is glad the lawsuit is over so they can now plan for the election.

"Everyone knew there was a potential [the law] could change, but we had all committed to following what the law is currently and being prepared for that, and then just looking to see, 'Will there be a change?'"

Duval Democratic Chair reacts

Travis Bridges, Chairman of Duval County Democratic Executive Committee, said the ruling came as no surprise to him.

"Because of the time limits between now and the election on November the sixth," he said.

"But the case will continue and go forward for future elections."

Bridges still believes in the principal of the lawsuit.

"Seeing the results of those hours and especially the last Sunday before the election - when people really haven't made up their minds at that point - I believe would give everyone, no matter what race, but everyone the opportunity to make the best judgment on who they are casting their vote for."

Congresswoman Corrine Brown's statement on the result

“I am disappointed by today’s court decision, which denies my request that the court order the state of Florida to expand early voting beyond current law. I had really hoped that the judge would allow counties to restore voting on the Sunday immediately before Election Day, but at least we will have one Sunday of early voting guaranteed. Under the new law all counties must offer voting every day from October 27 through November 3, and polls must be open at least six hours on each day.

"Clearly, the Florida Republican Party will continue to do everything possible to deny people the right to vote and make it as difficult as possible for Florida residents to get to the voting booth. However, I do not intend to allow this to happen; in fact, on Tuesday morning, from 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM, at the Duval County Supervisor of Elections Office, I am holding a voter registration program for Duval County residents. I will also be holding a larger event on Sunday, September 30^th, with Reverend Al Sharpton, and Members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

"I think it is evident that early voting has worked extremely well for African American voters. In fact, more than any other racial or ethnic group, African Americans have come to rely on early voting, and I am sure they will do so again this year. I will work to do everything I can to ensure that the system works smoothly for all voters.

"I am very encouraged that most large counties, including Duval and Orange, will have 96 hours of early voting and I call on all county supervisors to implement 12 hours of voting on all eight days allowed under the new law. There is simply no reason not to do that if we are serious about wanting people to participate in democracy. Certainly, we should be making it easier for our citizens to vote, not harder.”