Florida election law dealt blow as judge rules noncitizen petition ban unconstitutional

Florida election law dealt blow as judge rules noncitizen petition ban unconstitutional

In a victory for immigrants and advocacy groups, a federal judge has provisionally blocked enforcement of a Florida elections law that prohibited noncitizens from collecting signatures for citizen-led ballot initiatives. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, in a 28-page ruling, temporarily struck down part of a controversial measure Republicans pushed to passage this year (HB 1205) that empowered state officials to enforce citizenship requirements o…