© 2024 WFSU Public Media
WFSU News · Tallahassee · Panama City · Thomasville
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Lawsuit Asks Supreme Court To Keep Three Amendments Off The Ballot

Florida Supreme Court building in front of blue sky
Nick Evans
/
WFSU

Plaintiffs in a lawsuit are asking the Florida Supreme Court to uphold a lower court’s ruling that struck three amendments from the ballot.

Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office Monday asked the Supreme Court to allow Amendments 7, 9 and 11 to remain on the ballot.

But a brief filed by Attorney Joseph Little Friday requests the Court uphold an earlier ruling by Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers. Gievers struck down the amendments, ruling they unconstitutionally bundled unrelated proposals.

Plaintiffs Robert Barnas and former Florida Supreme Court Justice Harry Lee Anstead argue the amendments violate voters’ First Amendment rights. They contend voters could have opposing views of issues contained in a single ballot proposal.

One amendment bans offshore drilling and vaping in workplaces. A second deals with the state college system and death benefits for first responders. And the last prohibits undocumented immigrants from owning property and makes clear repealing a criminal statute doesn’t affect those already in prison.

The Supreme Court has not yet said if it will hold oral arguments. 

Shawn Mulcahy is a reporter and All Things Considered host for WFSU. He graduated from Florida State University in 2019 with majors in public relations and political science. He was previously an intern at WFSU, and worked as an Account Coordinator at RB Oppenheim Associates.