Florida Hometown Democracy v. Browning
At stake is the fate of the Hometown Democracy Act, which appears to have lost its chance at the November 2008 ballot because of mistakes by offical state agencies, and possible unconstitutionality in the state's petition drive deadlines.
The lawsuit was filed on June 11, 2008. It challenges the irregularities in the petition-checking process that stemmed from the fact that the state's voter database is not current, and some from the fact that different counties use different standards for determining whether a signature is valid or not. The lawsuit attacks the practice of disqualifying inactive voters from signing initiative petitions, and also petition signature revocation, the practice of letting voters remove their signatures after the petition has been filed.[1]
Lesley Blackner, head of the Hometown Democracy effort, said that Florida's February 1, 2008 deadline violates the U.S. Constitution. She said, "It deprives people of their right to associate politically. The state has got to stop this war against citizens’ right to amend their constitution."[2]
Lawsuits challenging signature deadlines
Nader v. Brewer and Anderson v. Celebrezze are two other lawsuits challenging ballot access deadlines.
See also
- Florida Hometown Democracy Land Use, Amendment 4 (2010)
- Florida judges strike signature law, freeing development initiative
References
- ↑ Ballot Access News, Florida initiative backers sue Florida in federal court, June 13, 2008
- ↑ Associated Press, Florida Hometown Democracy sponsors sue state to get on November ballot, June 12, 2008
