Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials were named in the lawsuit challenging measures the suit says limits access to absentee and mail-in ballots. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images By NOLAN D. MCCASKILL and GARY FINEOUT 05/04/2020 07:04 PM EDT Updated: 05/04/2020 07:13 PM EDT A Democratic super PAC filed a lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials on Monday, challenging voting laws it argues could limit turnout in the nation’s biggest swing state this fall. The lawsuit joins a persistent and ongoing legal battle over voting in a state that will be key to President Donald Trump’s reelection. Priorities USA filed a joint legal challenge with Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, Alianza for Progress and several individuals against four provisions they say limit mail or absentee ballots. In the filing in U.S. District Court in Tallahassee, the groups argue that voters and elections officials will face challenges in November, including an unprecedented spike in demand for mail-in ballots and a reduction of poll workers and elections staff as the nation continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. The case names DeSantis, Secretary of State Laurel Lee, and Attorney General Ashley Moody, all Republicans, as defendants, as well as local elections officials. Priorities backed a similar suit in Pennsylvania, another battleground state, last month. Several states have postponed primary elections as the severity of the coronavirus crisis increased. The viral outbreak has infected more than a million people in the U.S., killing tens of thousands of Americans and forcing much of the country to shut down, resulting in job losses for tens of millions of workers who have filed unemployment claims. The complaint contends that the Covid-19 contagion makes access to absentee and mail-in voting increasingly important, but claims that that current state law creates significant […]
