Today, LDF, NAACP Florida State Conference, Common Cause Florida, All Voting is Local Florida, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Faith in Public Life, Demos, Southern Poverty Law Center, The League of Women Voters of Florida, Equal Ground, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Protect Democracy, American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Campaign Legal Center, Florida Rising, and ADL sent a letter urging Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody to reiterate her condemnation of voter intimidation and commitment to ensure that voters are free to vote without fear and intimidation.
Prior to the 2020 general election, AG Moody’s office issued the following statement: “The Attorney General condemns hate, and any and all acts of voter intimidation. Violence and threats cannot be tolerated in our elections process. Voters must be allowed to exercise their right to vote without fear or intimidation and law enforcement must stand ready to assist if these acts occur.”
In light of widespread reports indicating organized efforts to intimidate and harass voters this fall, it is critically important that AG Moody’s office issue a similar statement prior to the upcoming election. The letter urges AG Moody to immediately issue a public statement affirming that voter intimidation is a serious crime under both federal and Florida law and warn potential perpetrators that there are severe penalties if they intimidate voters, as she did in 2020. A public statement on this issue will not only have an important deterrent effect on potential bad actors, but it will also give Florida voters comfort that they will be able to safely head to the polls to cast their ballots free from voter intimidation.
Read the full letter here.
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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation’s first civil rights law organization. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Please note that LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights.
