UPDATE: "It's the First Amendment, Stupid"
Popular Information doesn't just break news; it creates change. Consider a few examples of the impact of this newsletter:
But today, this newsletter's future is uncertain. About half of our current readership found out about Popular Information through Twitter. But Elon Musk, who bought Twitter and renamed it X, has changed the algorithm to promote his own right-wing views and suppress links from independent publishers like Popular Information. That's why I need your help. Popular Information has 365,000 readers, but only a small fraction are paid subscribers. If more readers upgrade to paid, Popular Information can invest in alternative growth strategies, reach more people, and produce more accountability journalism that rattles the cages of the powerful. Earlier this month, Popular Information reported that the Florida Department of Health had threatened TV executives with jail time if they continued to run an ad supporting a ballot initiative to protect reproductive rights in the state. The threat, sent by Florida Department of Health General Counsel John Wilson, claimed the ads by Floridians Protecting Freedom (FPF) violated Florida's law against "sanitary nuisance." It was a creative legal interpretation, considering that law deals with issues like "untreated or improperly treated human waste," "[t]he keeping of diseased animals," and the "causing of any condition capable of breeding flies, mosquitoes, or other arthropods capable of transmitting diseases." In response, FPF sent a response to TV executives asserting the efforts by Florida to get the ad pulled were "a textbook example of government coercion that violates the First Amendment." Nevertheless, the gambit reportedly convinced WINK TV, a CBS affiliate in Southwest Florida, to stop running the ad. As it turns out, it wasn't only FPF who believed the Florida Department of Health's letter was inappropriate. Wilson, who signed the letter, decided to resign as General Counsel of the Florida Department of Health on October 10 rather than continue to be involved in the intimidation campaign. According to an affidavit by Wilson first reported by the Tampa Bay Times, top deputies for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) gave Wilson pre-written letters "and told [him] to send them under his own name." In the affidavit, Wilson said that he "resigned from my position as general counsel in lieu of complying with directives… to send out further correspondence to media outlets." Wilson notes that, prior to resigning, he was directed to contract with outside law firms to continue "enforcement proceedings" against television stations that ran the ads. Those contracts will cost Florida taxpayers $1.4 million. Wilson's affidavit was submitted as part of litigation by FPF against Florida to stop them from coercing TV stations. Last Thursday, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker granted FPF's request for a preliminary injunction against the state. An excerpt from Walker's ruling:
Walker then quotes the 1945 Supreme Court case of Thomas v. Collins:
"To keep it simple for the State of Florida: it’s the First Amendment, stupid," Walker concludes. The DeSantis administration's unprecedented effort to void the abortion rights amendmentEarlier this month, the DeSantis administration released a 348-page report alleging that FPF committed “widespread petition fraud” while collecting the signatures required for the amendment to appear on the ballot. The report, issued by the Office of Election Crimes and Security (OECS), claimed that FPF submitted a “large number of forged signatures or fraudulent petitions.” The group was fined $328,000 for the alleged violation. . The report contains multiple accusations against FPF, but as the DeSantis administration did not file a criminal charge against the group, they do not have to provide evidence to support these allegations. For example, the report states that “county elections supervisors referred ‘an unusually high volume of complaints’ to the state,” but it does not provide data on how many complaints other ballot initiatives have received. It was also published after the deadline to challenge signatures for ballot initiatives. The report states that the investigation was originally focused on complaints related to petition forms that were deemed invalid. OECS, however, “became concerned that a substantial number of forged signatures submitted by FPF were mistakenly verified as valid by Supervisors of Elections.” In other words, the DeSantis administration began doubting the workers trained and tasked with validating signatures. Election office workers “go through a state training on signature matching” prior to every election, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Ballot initiatives in Florida require at least 891,523 supporting signatures in order to appear on the ballot. FPF submitted 1.4 million petitions in support of the amendment as a precaution, as it is common to have some signatures rejected. Over 997,000 (or 71.2%) of the group’s submitted petitions were validated. This is consistent with the rate of past ballot initiatives in the state, which “have generally seen 25% to 33% of petitions invalidated,” the Orlando Sentinel reported. The OECS report, however, claims that many of the validated petitions should have been rejected. According to the report, OECS “reviewed and analyzed a total of 13,445 validated petition forms” and determined that at least 2,849 petitioners should have been rejected “due to statutory deficiencies or a clear mismatch between the signature on the petition and any signature on file.” (According to the ACLU, signature matching is a delicate process as a “voter’s signature can change for many reasons.”) OECS then extrapolated their findings to hundreds of thousands of petitions it did not review. OECS argues that there is “an average total invalidity rate of 16.4%,” which would cause the total valid signatures to fall short of the required 891,523 valid petitions. Elections supervisors called the decision to reexamine already approved petitions an “unprecedented move” and said that “they couldn’t recall the state ever requesting validated petitions for a fraud investigation,” according to the Tampa Bay Times. Lauren Brenzel, FPF’s campaign director, denounced the report, saying that the collection of signatures was “above board and followed state law at every turn.” Brenzel called the OECS report a “dishonest distraction[] and [a] desperate attempt[] to silence voters.” Shortly after the report was released, anti-abortion advocates filed a lawsuit based on the report that alleges that FPF’s process of collecting signatures contained “widespread fraud.” The lawsuit aims to remove the amendment from the ballot or void the results of the election. Former Florida Supreme Court Justice Alan Lawson filed the lawsuit on behalf of four anti-abortion activists. Lawson said they “acted as soon as we had the evidence of the fraud,” stating that the ballot measure “shouldn’t be voted on.” |
Older messages
Judd Legum would like to give you a subscription to Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance
Monday, October 21, 2024
A message from Judd Legum: I'd personally like to offer you free access to Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance. Joyce is a lawyer and former US Attorney who writes fascinating columns tackling the
TD Bank executives oversee $670 billion drug money laundering scheme, avoid jail
Monday, October 21, 2024
On March 7, 2024, Attorney General Merrick Garland, speaking at the American Bar Association's 39th Annual White Collar Institute, gave an impassioned soliloquy on the importance of criminally
Texas county sidelines librarians, reclassifies book on abuse of Native Americans as "fiction"
Sunday, October 20, 2024
A Texas county has mandated public libraries move a well-regarded children's book documenting the mistreatment of Native Americans in New England — Colonization and the Wampanoag Story — from the
The Kavanaugh cover-up
Sunday, October 20, 2024
Over the last few years, the Supreme Court majority has issued a series of rulings that have fundamentally reshaped America — ending federal protections for abortion rights, upending the ability of
TONIGHT: A live discussion about the 2024 election and the law
Sunday, October 20, 2024
Tonight at 8 PM Eastern, I'll join Joyce Vance, the author of the Civil Discourse newsletter, for a live conversation about the intersection of law and politics and the 2024 election. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
You Might Also Like
The Best Subscription Boxes (That Make Great Last-Minute Gifts)
Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Plus: Actually thoughtful gift cards. The Strategist Every product is independently selected by editors. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission. December 23,
Get Thinkie and save $50, plus free shipping!
Monday, December 23, 2024
Train your brain -- the science is in the sensor. GeekWire is pleased to present this special sponsored message to our Pacific NW readers. Train your brain -- the science is in the sensor. Use discount
Truly special Champagne flutes
Monday, December 23, 2024
For New Year's toasting View in browser Ad The Recommendation December 23, 2024 Ad Clink! Ring in the new year in style. Two green Estelle Colored Glass Champagne Flutes standing next to each other
Nordstrom going private in $6.25B deal | How to monetize AI agents
Monday, December 23, 2024
Early Microsoft leaders behind new Seattle-area AI startup ADVERTISEMENT GeekWire SPONSOR MESSAGE: GeekWire's special series marks Microsoft's 50th anniversary by looking at what's next for
Chime makes any day payday with this feature
Monday, December 23, 2024
MyPay is becoming one of the neobank's most loved benefits. Advertiser content from Chime Chime members get paid when they say Chime is changing the EWA (early wage access) game with MyPay, which
Head into the new year with Friends of the Pod by your side
Monday, December 23, 2024
Claim 25% off by the end of the year ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Gossiped Girl
Monday, December 23, 2024
When PR People Attack ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Tuesday Briefing: The Matt Gaetz report is out
Monday, December 23, 2024
Plus, celebrating “Chrismukkah.” View in browser|nytimes.com Ad Morning Briefing: Asia Pacific Edition December 24, 2024 Author Headshot By Gaya Gupta Good morning. We're covering the release of
Our campaign to make 2025 The Lever’s strongest year yet.
Monday, December 23, 2024
Four years ago, after working as speechwriter for Bernie Sanders' 2020 campaign, I started an email newsletter covering the complex web of money, influence, and greed corrupting our democracy.
Billionaire mercenary Erik Prince sued The Intercept
Monday, December 23, 2024
We're not about to let anyone — even a litigious billionaire — intimidate us from publishing truthful investigative reporting that's in the public interest. In 2020, The Intercept was sued by