Joseph Ax

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – A Federal Appeal Court on Friday restored Florida’s Republican-backed voter restrictions. It overruled a judge who deemed that some provisions like the limits on drop-off boxes for ballots were racially discriminatory.

U.S. judge Mark Walker, Tallahassee indicted the entire law and found it to have been “intentionally discriminatory”. For the next 10 year, he ordered that the state seek approval from the court to amend the relevant provisions.

A panel of 11th U.S. judges ruled in favor of the state. Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the state to appeal his decision. It noted that Florida’s primary elections are in August. This is too soon to make changes to electoral rules.

Friday’s decision reinstates restrictions regarding drop boxes, and third-party organisations’ ability to collect voter forms. The law also prohibits organizations from providing food, water, or other assistance to voters who are waiting to cast their ballots.

The bill was signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis last year, after passing the Republican majority legislature.

The bill was among dozens of new voting restrictions that Republican-controlled states have approved in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent.

Walker’s analysis on Florida’s “grotesque historical” of racial disparity was also criticised by the panel. He argued that he was too distant in time to justify his argument.

Trump appointed the judges of the 11th Circuit panel. Walker, a Democratic ex-President Barack Obama, was named to the bench.