Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation that could save him from a potential legal battle just hours before he formally launches his presidential bid.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Florida Republican and likely contender for the Republican nomination in 2024 signed wide-ranging GOP-backed reforms that included language suspending Florida’s “resign to run” law, which requires statewide officials seeking higher office to resign from their position before mounting a bid.
The Republican-dominated state legislature, which is closely aligned with DeSantis, had presumably been pushing the bill through the state legislature in preparation for the governor’s anticipated bid for the presidency, which was scheduled to formally launch in a streamed event on Twitter Wednesday afternoon. DeSantis’ campaign formally filed paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission earlier that day, cementing his run and placing him on a likely collision course with frontrunner Donald Trump.
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The passage of Senate Bill 7050, meanwhile, resolves an early problem facing his campaign’s launch: the threat of a lawsuit from his political rivals. While Democrats who opposed the bill argued the governor should not get special treatment, some speculated DeSantis could potentially be sued for announcing his campaign prior to his signature on the bill.
Other legal experts, however, speculated DeSantis could not have been sued for not resigning from the governor’s seat until he formally qualified to be a candidate for president. Announcing, experts told Newsweek earlier this week, has no bearing on one’s status under the law.
“The amendments to the resign-to-run laws in Florida create an exception for individuals who hold office in Florida who run for the presidency or vice-presidency,” Michael McAuliffe, an elected state attorney in Florida and former federal prosecutor, told Newsweek earlier this week. “The resign-to-run restrictions in Florida likely are tied to candidates ‘qualifying’ for office; as a result, the new amendments will be the law when DeSantis qualifies as a presidential candidate in the future.”
However, there remains potential Florida could be sued for other facets of Senate Bill 7050, which includes sweeping reforms to the state’s elections systems that include new barriers for organizations that conduct voter registration drives by imposing greater voter identification requirements, shorter deadlines on voter registration forms, and restrictions on who is allowed to assist with voter registration drives, among other reforms.
“We should be breaking down barriers to voting, but this bill does nothing to help voters,” Kirk Bailey, political director of the ACLU of Florida, said in a statement criticizing the bill earlier this month. “Our efforts should focus on protecting voters by getting rid of voter registration deadlines to expand participation in our democracy. Instead, we’re penalizing organizations that encourage people to vote.”
At least one individual has already threatened a lawsuit against the bill.
“If and when DeSantis signs this voter suppression bill, Florida will be sued,” Democratic elections attorney Marc Elias tweeted earlier this month.