A law that tripped up a New Smyrna Beach teacher registering students to vote, snagged a Daytona Beach community activist registering new voters at her church, and was scored by Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Ann McFall as "unenforceable" no longer is in force. A federal judge granted an injunction Thursday halting enforcement of much of the state's controversial new elections law.
And not a moment too soon. The law, passed last year by the Legislature, stopped most volunteer voter-registration efforts across the state.
The League of Women Voters, which had been helping sign up Florida voters for more than 70 years, suspended its usual registration operations and went to the courts. The group complained that the law's strict deadlines, new demands on volunteer organizations and harsh penalties made signups outside of election offices all but impossible.
And a federal district court judge in Tallahassee agreed.
"The statute and rule impose a harsh and impractical 48-hour deadline for an organization to deliver applications to a voter-registration office and effectively prohibit an organization from mailing applications in. And the statute and rule impose burdensome record-keeping and reporting requirements that serve little if any purpose, thus rendering them unconstitutional," wrote U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle in a 27-page opinion.
The "harsh and impractical" 48-hour deadline was what got Midtown community activist Norma Bland into trouble last December.
She collected signatures at a church event on a Friday afternoon and turned them in on Monday. That violated the 48-hour deadline even though the elections office was closed on Sunday.
One of the things the judge complained about in Thursday's order was that the law and the rules for applying it are "virtually unintelligible" when it comes to the 48-hour deadline clock.
"The short deadline, coupled with substantial penalties for noncompliance, make voter-registration drives a risky business," he wrote.
Like Bland, New Smyrna High School civics teacher Jill Cicciarelli found herself potentially facing those substantial penalties last October. She fell afoul of the law not just because of the 48-hour deadline but because she failed to register with the state as a "registration agent."
Under the law, everybody associated with voter registration is a registration agent. The example the judge gave was if you had a person with voter-registration forms on a folding table and a person handing out fliers encouraging people to vote, both would need to register ahead of time.
Yes, even a person doing no more than handing out pamphlets.
And becoming a registration agent involves signing a scary-sounding sworn statement promising to obey the elections laws and laying out harsh penalties for even inadvertently running afoul of the law. The statement incorrectly says the volunteers could be criminally charged for unwittingly passing along false information.
"The form is just wrong," wrote the judge.
So, now it looks like customary voter-registration drives can get up and running again in time for the Aug. 14 primary. The registration books close July 16.
Remember: If voting didn't matter, the Legislature wouldn't be going to all this trouble to discourage potential voters.
Source: www.news-journalonline.com
Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrated in Kent - BBC News
Thousands of people in towns and villages across Kent have taken part in street parties to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
In Dover, visitors joined in the Big Lunch and watched events in London on the BBC's big screen.
More than a dozen Kent boats - including World War II supply ship Vic96 - have been among the hundreds of vessels in London's Jubilee Pageant.
Skipper Derek Gransden said: "It's all very exciting."
His vessel was part of the Avenue of Sail which features boats that are too tall to travel under bridges and stretches from London Bridge to Wapping.
Before the event started, he said: "We're just between Tower Bridge and London Bridge opposite the Belfast, we're lined up with lots of Thames barges.
“Start Quote
End Quote Barbara MacnabThe Queen's done a marvellous job considering how young she was when she started”
"Believe it or not the banks have been jam-packed with people since about six o'clock this morning despite the fact that it's been pouring with rain.
"We get the luxury of watching it [the pageant] all go up, as it has done this morning to get on station, and then watching them come back this afternoon."
Floating parliamentA replica of the Houses of Parliament has also been unveiled in Goudhurst.
The 30ft-long (9m) plywood structure, which includes a 14ft (4.3m) high Big Ben bell tower, was created over four weeks and is now floating in the village pond.
Hundreds of small wooden boats made by local schoolchildren were placed in the water on Sunday at 15:00 BST to recreate the pageant taking place in London.
A replica of the Houses of Parliament was floated on the pond to mark the Queen's Coronation in 1953.
In Tunbridge Wells, young and old braved the weather to enjoy a picnic and slices of Jubilee cake.
Barbara Macnab, 44, of Ticehurst, said: "We came down because we wanted to join in the celebration of the Jubilee and there wasn't anything in our village.
"It's a big thing for the children because they won't see anything like this again. I want them to remember it and be able to tell their grandchildren. It's nice to see everybody getting involved and celebrating - united."
She added: "The Queen's done a marvellous job considering how young she was when she started."
A tea party and mass zumba dance challenge involving 1,000 people is being held in Ramsgate.
Meanwhile people in Gillingham were invited to dress up as as a famous personality from the past 60 years to mark the Queen' Diamond Jubilee at the town's Big Lunch event.
See all the latest Diamond Jubilee news and features at bbc.co.uk/diamondjubilee
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
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