Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning today asked a court to do away with federal approval of changes to the state’s elections laws in five counties under the 1965 Voting Rights Act, alleging that the that part of the Act is unconstitutional.

Browning also asked a three-judge federal court panel in Washington to expedite its review of four election law changes approved by lawmakers this spring and signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott. Browning went to the court in July for approval after initially submitting the new laws to the U.S. Department of Justice for “preclearance,” required for under federal law for five counties – Hendry, Collier, Hardee, Hillsborough and Monroe – with a history of racial discrimination against voters.

The federal law covers the Florida counties as well as six other southern states – Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana,
Mississippi, South Carolina, and Virginia – Alaska, and counties in North Carolina, Arizona, Hawaii, and Idaho.

Under changes to the Voting Rights Act approved by Congress in 1972, the preclearance is required for jurisdictions in which at the time less than 50 percent of the voting-age citizens were registered to vote or voted in the presidential election, had a non-English-speaking population of more than five percent, and provided voting materials only in English.

“I am hopeful the federal court will come to a quick resolution and approve the remaining provisions of our preclearance submission as nondiscriminatory,” Browning said in a statement. “However, I am frustrated that the reason we are still waiting to implement Florida law in five counties is because of an arbitrary and irrational coverage formula based on data from 40 years ago that takes no account of current conditions.”

All changes to the state’s new elections laws must be approved by the Justice Department or by a federal court, a rare move according to elections experts.

Browning asked the court to rule on the new elections laws before the end of the year. If not, that could pose problems for Floridians voting in the GOP primary now slated for Jan. 31 because the five counties would not be operating under the same laws as the rest of the state. State law requires that voting laws be uniform statewide.

Instead of getting federal approval for the four most controversial portions of the state’s new elections laws, Browning went to court, making U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder a defendant in the case.

Florida is one of more than a dozen states that passed elections laws this spring that critics object are aimed at keeping low-income, minority and college-student voters – who typically vote for Democrats and helped President Obama win the 2008 presidential election – away from the polls.

The ACLU and others are challenging the new elections laws in federal court in Miami.

Florida and more than a dozen other states’ new elections laws intended to clamp down on voting fraud could keep 5 million Americans from voting in next year’s presidential election, a new study by the Brennan Center for Justice found.

As in Florida, the laws require voters to show photo identification before casting ballots, cut back on early voting days or impose restrictions on voter registration drives. Florida’s new election law passed by the Republican-controlled legislature in May and signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott includes all of those elements and more.

The ACLU and other groups filed a federal lawsuit in June against Scott’s administration over the elections laws changes. The groups and the Brennan Center also asked the Justice Department to reject the most controversial provisions of the law. Late in July, Secretary of State Kurt Browning sidestepped the DOJ and instead asked a federal three-judge panel to sign off on those four portions being challenged in the lawsuit. Federal approval is required for five Florida counties under the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

The Brennan Center analysis found that the new laws, including Florida’s, could have a significant impact on next year’s presidential election because the changes will primarily impact minority and low-income voters who tend to vote for Democrats. Florida’s law could also make it more difficult for college and university students – who played a key role in President Obama’s 2008 victory – to vote.

“This is the most significant cutback in voting rights in decades. More voters may be affected than the margin of victory in two out of the past three presidential elections,” Michael Waldman, executive director of the Brennan Center for Justice, said in a statement released with the new study. “In 2012 we should make it easier for every eligible citizen to vote. Instead, we have made it far harder for too many. Partisans should not try to tilt the electoral playing field in this way.”

The state House plans to join a pair of Florida members of Congress in appealing a federal judge’s ruling that upheld a new, voter-approved standard for lawmakers when they draw congressional and legislative boundaries next year, House Speaker Dean Cannon said Thursday.

The move extends a battle between the Republican-ruled Legislature and the Democratic-allied Fair Districts campaign, which spearheaded the effort leading to voter approval of Florida constitutional amendments 5 and 6 last fall. Cannon, R-Winter Park,  and U.S. Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami, and Corrine Brown, D-Jacksonville, argue that Amendment 6 violates the U.S. Constitution by attempting to make state law apply to a federal matter.

U.S. District Judge Ursula Ungaro rejected the lawsuit earlier this month. But Cannon said Thursday that Ungaro is wrong.

 He drew on a federal court’s two-decade old ruling that in Florida, voter-approved term limits could not apply to members of Congress, in making the case for appeal.

“The federal court said, ‘no it doesn’t apply to congressional seats because Article 1, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution says only Congress and the federal constitution can prescribe limits like that,” Cannon said. “And we think the exact same argument applies here.”

The Legislature must draw new districts in time for the 2012 elections to reflect 2010 census data. The process in Florida and other states has historically been dominated by partisanship and political considerations. But Amendments 5 and 6 state that districts cannot be drawn to favor incumbents or political parties and must be compact and adhere to existing city, county and geographical boundaries “where feasible.”

The amendment also states that districts must not deny minorities the opportunity to elect candidates of their choice.

Fair Districts and its supporters have called on Cannon to end the legal attack on the amendment — approved by 63 percent of voters. But Cannon said the thousands of dollars in taxpayer money spent challenging the measure is needed.

“This lawsuit is not about any specific map, or even this specific year,” Cannon said. “It’s about defining the responsibility of our state Legislature under the federal constitution.”

But Dan Gelber, a former Democratic legislator who now represents Fair Districts, said “it is offensive to spend taxpayer money to fight your own constituents.” He noted that Florida taxpayers are paying for legal costs on both sides — for the Secretary of State to defend the new state standards, and for the House seeking to overturn it.

“It shows are desperate the Republican-ruled Legislature is to retain their ability to draw district lines the way they want,” Gelber said.

Cannon, though, assured that lawmakers will abide by the Amendment 5 and 6 standards when they begin line-drawing as early as next month. Cannon acknowledged that it could prove months before a ruling emerges from 11th U.S. District Court of Appeals.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry is clearly staking his hopes on a strong showing in Saturday’s straw poll at the Republican Party’s Presidency 5 convention in Orlando.

And he’s got his fans, including a couple of Pasco County activists who lined up at 5:30 a.m. this morning for a breakfast session with the Republican contender that was slated to start at 7 a.m. One said she felt obliged to defend her favorite candidate, who a poll this week put as the Florida frontrunner.

“Sure, he may not be the perfect candidate, but who is?” said Julie Hassler, of Wesley Chapel, president of Club Politico, an Hispanic-voter organization. “But I feel he’s like a boxer who’s had to take some low blows, because the other candidate’s know he’s in the lead.”

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Gov. Rick Scott joined in with the recurring them of the Conservative Political Action Conference session Friday in Orlando, telling a cheering crowd of several thousand that he was looking forward to Florida becoming a “model for the nation.”

“Be optimistic. This is our time,” Scott assured delegates, on a steady diet of Obama-bashing from the Republican presidential candidates.

Scott also used his time at the microphone to promote his first nine months as Florida governor saying, “We’ve had plenty of success so far, not enough.”

He also offered a partisan math lesson, saying Florida has created 87,200 private sector jobs, since he was elected. Scott also claimed the state has lost 15,000 government jobs in the same period.

“We’re heading in the right direction,” Scott said.

At a Capitol crowded with what he called 500 of “friends and neighbors” from the Florida Panhandle, Niceville Republican Don Gaetz was designated Monday as the next president of the Florida Senate.

Gaetz will assume the job following next year’s elections — should the GOP retain its Senate majority, a likely development. Republicans now hold 28 seats in the 40-member Senate.

Gaetz, first elected in 2006, is the wealthiest member of the Legislature.  A retired co-founder of Vitas Healthcare Corp., a hospice care provider, Gaetz devoted most of his acceptance speech to touting plans for reviving Florida’s faltering economy.

Gaetz recalled the words of Winston Churchill, anguishing over “what a waste to be a great man in small times.”

“One thing is sure. These are not small times,” Gaets said. “They are hard times. But they can be great times.”

On track to succeed Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Melbourne, following the November elections, Gaetz encapsulated his future leadership in three promises.

He vowed to bolster the state’s political ethics, make education meet the state’s economic needs, and turn Florida into a “cradle of common sense solutions,” that can draw businesses with smaller government, low taxes, and reduced regulations.

“In an angry sea of economic chaos, Florida can become a safe harbor,” Gaetz said.  

Another multi-millionaire who has pledged to fix Florida’ s economy, Gov. Rick Scott, said he liked what he heard from Gaetz, a former county school board member and superintendent.

“He understands that we really have to do the right thing with regard to education. Science, technology, engineering and math are clearly going to be key to growing our state. It’s going to be a real key to getting companies to move here,” Scott said. “I like the challenge that he set down.”

Supporters of the so-called Fair Districts amendments guiding redistricting want the Legislature to meet a strict, early deadline next year for redrawing congressional and legislative boundaries.

The Legislature convenes early next year — Jan. 10 — to begin redistricting work. And Fair Districts wants lawmakers to move fast — with a demand that a vote on final plans for the new district maps to be set for Jan. 13.

“While the redistricting committees are traveling the state to get input on what maps should look like, the Florida League of Women Voters, Democracia U.S.A., and other backers of the Fair Districts standards wrote lawmakers Wednesday seeking faster action on the final plans — to give them time for more “public input,” presumably in court.

“We need to…ensure there will be no chaos and confusion for candidates and voters,” said Deidre Macnab, president of the Florida League of Women Voters. “We call upon (legislators) to adotp a timeline that makes sense for the people of Florida.”

The Fair Districts’ Amendments 5 and 6 require that district lines be contiguous and compact, shaped largely by city, county and geographic boundaries. The amendments, pushed by Democratic­-allied organizations, were aimed at blunting ruling Republicans’ ability to draw wide-ranging districts to help incumbents or the party’s candidates.

The legislature’s redistricting public hearings will renew Aug. 15, from 6 to 9 p.m., at Stuart’s Blake Library. The next day, lawmakers are scheduled to hear from voters at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. It’s the lone meeting planned for Palm Beach County.

Federal officials have signed off on the bulk of Florida’s elections overhaul but the most controversial portions remain in limbo.

The U.S. Department of Justice approved 76 measures included in the new law passed by the GOP-dominated legislature this spring and signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott.

But last month, Secretary of State Kurt Browning sidestepped President Obama’s administration and instead asked a federal court to approve the most controversial components of the new law.

“I am appreciative of the work the DOJ has done to approve Florida’s new election laws,” Browning said in statement today. “Their decision confirms what we already know, that Florida’s new election laws are fair and not discriminatory. I expect the federal district court will also agree that the new laws are fair when it reviews the remaining provisions.”

Five counties in Florida – Collier, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Hillsborough and Monroe – require federal “preclearance” before new election laws can go into effect to make sure the changes do are not discriminatory.

The ACLU and other groups are currently challenging the new law in federal court in Miami, saying it is designed to make registering to vote and casting ballots more difficult for minorities and low-income voters who typically vote Democratic. Scott, who re-appointed Browning, asked the judge in that case to remove him from the lawsuit. Jesse Jackson held rallies in Florida late last month protesting the new law.

The portions of the new law still awaiting approval from the federal three judge panel deal with third party voter registrations, changes of address, early voting hours and petition signature verification. Browning said he expects a court ruling before next year’s presidential primary.

Read more about the four provisions still hanging after the jump.
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Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is backing George LeMieux in a heated GOP primary for U.S. Senate.

Barbour, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee who briefly considered running in the 2012 presidential race, called LeMieux a “solid conservative” in a statement released this morning by LeMieux’s campaign.

“I am honored to earn the support of a principled conservative like Haley Barbour. When Governor Barbour was RNC Chairman, he helped orchestrate the Republican Revolution in 1994 that built the type of conservative majorities we need to turn our country around,” LeMieux said in the release. “More importantly, from his leadership during hurricane Katrina to his work passing key pro-life legislation, Governor Barbour is a case study in effective conservative governance.”

LeMieux is struggling to shake off his ties to Gov. Charlie Crist, who appointed LeMieux to replace former U.S. Sen. Mel Martinez when he resigned mid-term. LeMieux, a one-time close ally to Crist whom the former governor called “The Maestro,” did not seek reelection to the seat, which now-U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio won after Crist quit the GOP and ran against him as an independent.

LeMieux will face off in the primary against Delray Beach’s Adam Hasner, a former state House member who also served as the chamber’s majority leader.

Wealthy Delray Beacher Nick Loeb is toying with entrée into the race but is waiting until gal pal Sofia Vergara, star of Modern Family, gets past the Emmy Awards next month. Chris Ruddy, another Palm Beacher and CEO of the influential West Palm Beach-based conservative publication NewsMax, has ruled out getting into the candidate fray.

A Quinnipiac University poll last week showed that 53 percent of Republican voters remain undecided in the Senate primary but found Plant City tree farmer and retired Army Reserve Col. Mike McCalister leading the current four-candidate field with a meager 15 percent.

Behind McCalister in the poll were both LeMieux, with 12 percent, and Hasner, with 6 percent. Former Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse CEO Craig Miller weighed in with 8 percent support.

Secretary of State Kurt Browning has asked a federal court to approve Florida’s new election law, sidestepping the U.S. Justice Department on the most controversial portions of the voting overhaul approved by the GOP-dominated legislature in May and signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott.

Critics of the new law say it is designed to make registering to vote and casting ballots more difficult for minorities and low-income voters, who typically vote Democratic. The ACLU and other groups are currently challenging the new law in federal court in Miami. Scott, who re-appointed Browning, last week asked the judge in that case to remove him from the lawsuit. Jesse Jackson held rallies in Florida this week protesting the new law.

On Friday, Browning withdrew four portions of the law – including those currently being challenged in federal court – from the preclearance application. Federal approval is required for five Florida counties under the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

In a press release, Browning hinted that the state wouldn’t get a fair evaluation from the Democratic president’s administration.

“The purpose of filing in the federal district court is to ensure that the changes to Florida’s election law are judged on their merits by eliminating the risk of a ruling impacted by outside influence,” Browning said in the release. “Since the passage of HB 1355, we have seen misinformation surrounding the bill increase. By asking a court to rule on certain aspects of the bill, we are assured of a neutral evaluation based on the facts.”

Browning had the option of submitting the new law to the Justice Department, the usual method of getting new election laws approved, or a three-judge panel. He originally asked for federal preclearance from Justice officials in June.
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The League of Women Voters and other voter-advocacy organizations urged Justice Department officials Friday to reject the state’s new elections law, arguing that it creates hurdles for minorities and low-income voters.

The Brennan Center for Justice, Democracia USA and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law wrote federal officials critical of the new legislation, which is already subject of a lawsuit filed by the ACLU and other groups.

In their 25-page letter, the organizations contend the law violates the Voting Rights Act.  The league and others are asking that Justice Department officials examine three areas, alleging:

The law will restrict the opportunity and ability of citizens and grassroots organizations to conduct voter registration drives by imposing burdensome and wholly unnecessary regulations and red tape;

The law will reduce the number of days in the state’s early voting period, and possibly cut early voting hours as well; 

The law will make it impossible for registered voters who have recently moved within Florida, from one county to another, to provide notice of their change of address on election day and still cast a regular ballot.

Former state House majority leader Adam Hasner said Thursday that he has raised more than $560,000 for his U.S. Senate campaign since jumping into the race in April.

While that trails leading fundraiser, Senate President Mike Haridopolos, whose $900,000 last quarter brings his total to $3.4 million, Hasner said his first finance report will show he is not relying on the special interest contributors his leading rivals have turned to.

Haridopolos has powerful Tallahassee ties; George LeMieux, appointed by former Gov. Charlie Crist for a brief turn in the Senate and now seeking a term of his own, was the beneficiary last month of a Washington cash-call hosted by Senate Republicans.

Hasner, of Delray Beach, is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson next year.

“Obviously, we’re not going to out-raise our opponents right out of the gate,” said Hasner adviser Rick Wilson. “One of them is running the Charlie Crist-special interest, establishment campaign plan. And the other one wrote it. Our approach is fundamentally different.”

Hasner said his report, which is to be filed by July 15, will show he has raised money from more than 2,000 contributors, signs that he’s got an “energized grassroots base.” Hasner also says he’s got $460,000 cash-on-hand.

With the state’s new elections law it opposed now challenged in federal court, the Florida League of Women Voters is rolling back the clock to honor former Gov. Charlie Crist next week.

The league, which said it would refrain from major voter registration efforts because of potential penalties imposed by the new measure, will honor Crist with a “Making Democracy Work,” award at an event it will host July 15 in St. Petersburg.

The league fought the sweeping elections measure (CS/HB 1355) during the last legislative session. It also urged Gov. Rick Scott to veto the changes, which impose stiff fines on such organizations as the league if they do not submit lists of prospective voters to elections supervisors within 48 hours of signing them up.

Democrats and allied groups also battled the legislation for imposing new voter standards and shortening the number of days for early voting, provisions they say that will make it harder for minorities, low-income voters and college students to cast ballots in next year’s elections.

Crist, however, is fondly remembered by the league.
The award will commend the former governor for signing into law standards that required a paper trail for touch-screen voting machines once in use, extending early voting hours during the 2008 election, and streamlining civil rights restoration for felons who had completed their sentences.

The U.S. Justice Department was asked by Florida officials Wednesday to approve the state’s sweeping new elections law for five counties that need such preclearance under the federal Voting Rights Act.

Secretary of State Kurt Browning submitted documents detailing law changes under CS/HB 1355, which Gov. Rick Scott signed into law May 18 over opposition from legislative Democrats, the League of Women Voters, NAACP and other organizations.

Critics of the law said it is designed to blunt Democratic turnout and weaken voter registration efforts in advance of the 2012 elections.

 The ACLU of Florida, the national ACLU, and Project Vote, a Washington, D.C., voters’ rights organization, sued last week in Miami federal court to stop statewide implementation of the law until Justice Department approval is obtained.

Browning had said earlier that he would not seek to enforce the state’s new standards in Hendry, Collier, Hardee, Hillsborough and Monroe counties until receiving Justice Department approval.

But he has gone ahead and ordered the new law to take effect in Florida’s 62 other counties, a move which triggered the ACLU legal challenge.

State and federal law require the state to have uniform elections laws.

“It looks like Browning is now trying to speed-up the process in hopes of covering up the mistake he made by ordering the law to take effect,” said Howard Simon, executive director of the ACLU of Florida.

Browning has defended his action, saying the new measure was to take effect upon becoming law. He acknowledged that preclearance was needed before the measure could be enforced in the five counties.

The Justice Department has at least 60 days to review documents submitted Wednesday by Browning.

Critics of the new law say it is designed to make registering to vote and casting ballots more difficult for minorities and low-income voters, who typically vote Democratic. Scott and Republican legislative leaders said the new standards

The law imposes strict regulation of third-party registration groups, including requiring that they turn in registration forms within 48 hours after they are signed. It also reduces the number of days available for early voting in Florida, although county election supervisors are required to maintain the same, 98 hours made available before Election Day.

Voting rights groups and two Democratic state lawmakers asked a federal court to stop a sweeping new elections law from being implemented until it gets clearance from the Obama administration.

The ACLU and Washington-based Project Vote filed the lawsuit on behalf of state Sen. Arthenia Joyner and Rep. Janet Cruz, both Tampa Democrats, and other voters seeking an injunction of HB 1355, signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott on May 18. The law became effective immediately, and Secretary of State Kurt Browning, a Scott appointee, the following day issued a directive to the state’s 67 elections supervisors telling them to begin implementing the changes.

Opponents of the controversial new law claim it is aimed at suppressing Democratic voter turnout in the 2012 presidential election. Both parties consider Florida, a swing state that elected President Obama in 2008, crucial for victory next November.

The suit filed today asks a federal judge to block the law from going into effect for all 67 counties while the U.S. Department of Justice reviews the changes in five counties – Hillsborough, Collier, Monroe, Hardee and Hendry- subject to federal preclearance.

Lawyers for the groups say the Florida cannot go into effect anywhere in the state until the preclearance is approved because election laws are required to be uniform throughout the state.

“We believe the laws, rules and related cases are clear – Florida cannot implement the new law anywhere in the state until the Justice Department conducts a review or until the DC federal court approves the changes,” said Laughlin McDonald, Voting Rights Project Director of the ACLU. “That review is needed and until it happens, we’re asking the court to stop this law from moving forward.”

Only a day after suing Gov. Rick Scott over his executive order requiring drug testing of state employees, the ACLU looked poised Thursday to fire another legal challenge his way — this time over the state’s new elections law.

A pair of Tampa Democrats, Sen. Arthenia Joyner and Rep. Janet Cruz are expected to join ACLU executive director Howard Simon and others Friday in announcing the latest effort, aimed at slowing down the implementation of HB 1355.

The legislation has been criticized by Democrats in Florida and across the nation for imposing tough standards on voter registration organizations, while making it more difficult for voters to cast ballots after they move from one county to another.

Scott, meanwhile, said he is confident the ACLU’s challenge to his ordering random drug testing of state workers.

“It’s common sense,” Scott said. “The private sector does it. They do it to make sure they have a productive workforce. So we should be doing it at the state. It makes all the sense in the world. It’s constitutional.”

Although Palm Beach County often seems to end up as ground zero for weird, puzzling and too-close-to-call episodes in Florida election history, state lawmakers aren’t giving the county much love in a 26-city redistricting tour.

Legislative redistricting committees are holding only one public hearing in Palm Beach County this summer. The 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. event will be held Aug. 16 at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

The night before, Aug. 15, members of the public can vent about House, Senate and congressional district boundaries at a 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., hearing at Stuart’s Blake Library. On the same day as the FAU hearing, the redistricting committees will hold an evening public hearing from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., in Davie at the Broward College gym.

Palm Beach County districts are likely to undergo some big changes with the once-a-decade redistricting, which lawmakers will begin in January.

 Among the boundaries expected to change significantly are the five-county Senate District 27, now held by Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Wellington, and another sure-to-be battleground — the Broward-Palm Beach county congressional seat held by U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Fort Lauderdale.

More information and a schedule of hearings can be found at www.floridaredistricting.org.

The

Gov. Rick Scott signed into law today a sweeping elections bill despite urging from critics that the measure will make it tougher for Floridians to cast their ballots in next year’s presidential election.

Scott’s office released an announcement that the first-term governor signed the bill (HB 1355) about an hour before a hastily-scheduled conference call with Secretary of State Kurt Browning, reappointed by Scott earlier this year.

The new law will force voters to cast provisional ballots if they change their address at the polling place, make it harder for third-party groups to register voters and shorten early voting days. Nelson asked U.S. Attorney Eric Holder’s office to investigate the elections changes. Five counties in Florida remain under federal scrutiny because of discrimination against minority voters decades ago.

Critics, including the Florida League of Women Voters, Democrats and the ACLU, contend the GOP-dominated legislature pushed the bill through to make it harder for Democrats to get registered to vote and cast their ballots in next year’s presidential election, considered a must-win by both parties.

The law’s backers claim it will cut back on voter fraud.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Florida Congressional Democrats have asked the U.S. Department of Justice to look into whether the new law meets muster under the federal Voting Rights Act.

Anticipating Scott’s signature, opponents are already preparing to sue over the new law.

Miami-Dade mayoral candidate Marcelo Llorente filed suit Wednesday, seeking to stop the Republican-ruled Florida Legislature’s rewrite of elections law that Gov. Rick Scott is expected to sign into law.

Llorente is seeking an injunction against Miami-Dade elections officials to stop the new elections measure (CS/HB 1335) from taking effect.

Llorente, a former Republican House member, maintains that a provision that would eliminate Sunday’s scheduled early voting in Miami — in advance of next week’s election – is unconstitutional.

State law, “cannot deny the right of the Miami-Dade County citizens to continue with a lawful and properly noticed election already under way,” Llorente said in his lawsuit filed in the county’s circuit court.

Llorente is among 11 candidates running for the post. But the legal challenge to the elections law comes even as Scott is mostly drawing heat from Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and a half-dozen members of Congress who want the Justice Department to block the elections law because they maintain it may interfere withe the federal Voting Rights Act.

Scott has until Saturday to act on the legislation. He told the Palm Beach Post on Wednesday that he was still making up his mind.

The governor also said he wouldn’t sign an elections bill he thought could hurt voters.

“I’m not going to sign a bill that discourages people from voting,” Scott said during a break in Wednesday’s hurricane conference in Fort Lauderdale. He added, “I want people to vote.”

The U.S. Department of Justice will “carefully consider” changes to Florida’s elections laws under a bill Gov. Rick Scott is expected to sign into law this week.

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson complained to the feds before the bill was passed that the measure would impose severe restrictions on Floridians’ voting rights. Democrats are convinced the measure is aimed at suppressing Democratic votes in next year’s presidential election in the swing state considered crucial by both parties.

Nelson drew flak with his comments at the time likening the fight against the elections overhaul to the the years-long covert operation that culminated in the death of Osama bin Laden.

The bill (HB 1355) would force voters to cast provisional ballots if they change their address at the polling place, make it harder for third-party groups to register voters and shorten early voting days. Nelson asked U.S. Attorney Eric Holder’s office to investigate the elections changes. Five counties in Florida remain under federal scrutiny because of discrimination against minority voters decades ago.

“We appreciate your bringing your concerns to our attention,” Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich wrote Nelson in a letter dated yesterday. “The Department of Justice will carefully consider the information you have provided in the course of our enforcement and administrative review work under the Voting Rights Act. If you have any more information you wish to share, the Department would be pleased to receive it from you.”

Florida’s Congressional Democrats also today asked the justice department’s civil rights division to check out the bill.

U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch of Boca Raton and others wrote that the bill “seriously undermine the basic voting rights” of Floridians.

“We are confident that any honest examination of this legislation will determine that it is in clear violation of the Voting Rights Act,” they wrote.

After the GOP-dominated legislature passed the measure, the League of Women Voters of Florida announced they would no longer conduct voter registration drives. The ACLU and others are expected to challenge the law in court if Scott signs it as expected. He has until May 21 to act on the bill.