The League of Women Voters of Florida and several affiliated organizations filed an emergency motion Tuesday to intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging a recently enacted Florida law that changes the rules for citizen-led constitutional amendments.

The motion, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, requests the court to authorize the League of Women Voters of Florida, the League of Women Voters of Florida Education Fund, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Florida chapter, and two individual League members, Cecile Scoon and Debra Chandler, to intervene as parties to the ongoing litigation. The groups are seeking intervention on the grounds that their interests, particularly in volunteer-led petition efforts, would be directly affected by the new law.

“Over the past few years, we’ve seen the state of Florida pull out all of the stops to effectively kill the citizen-led amendment  process,” said Scoon, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Florida.“With the passage of HB 1205, they went even further. We need to call this law what it is: a direct attack on Floridians who simply want to have a say in the political process. The League will not stand for that, and we look forward to fighting in court for everyday citizens to protect their constitutional right to direct democracy through the citizen-led amendment process.

The lawsuit, originally filed May 5 by Florida Decides Healthcare, Inc., challenges House Bill 1205, which was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 2 and is scheduled to take effect July 1. The plaintiffs include Florida Decides Healthcare’s campaign manager and a petition coordinator, naming Secretary of State Cord Byrd, Attorney General James Uthmeier, all 67 county supervisors of elections, and state attorneys across Florida as defendants.

House Bill 1205 establishes several new requirements for groups involved in placing constitutional amendments on the ballot. The law requires amendment sponsors to post a $1 million bond after reaching 25 percent of the necessary voter signatures. It limits each sponsor to one active amendment effort at a time and establishes time limits for meeting signature thresholds to qualify for court review.

The legislation also sets eligibility standards for petition circulators. All circulators must be Florida residents, while paid circulators are required to be U.S. citizens, pass background checks, complete state-provided training, and submit personal identification information. Petition forms must include additional voter details, such as a driver’s license or partial Social Security number, and display warnings about legal penalties. Supervisors of Elections are directed to validate only those petitions that meet the law’s requirements.

Additional provisions shorten the deadline for submitting signed petitions from 30 to 10 days, establish fines for late or improper submissions, and authorize notices to voters confirming that their signature was verified, including an option to revoke the signature.

Florida Decides Healthcare alleges the law imposes unconstitutional restrictions on political speech and association, in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments. The plaintiffs contend that the new regulations would disrupt their ballot initiative campaign, which employs paid petition circulators.

The League of Women Voters, LULAC, and the individual intervenors argue that the law would uniquely impact organizations that rely on volunteers to collect petition signatures. They state that the new registration, training, and disclosure requirements would impose operational burdens not previously applicable to volunteer-driven efforts. The motion also raises concerns about civil and criminal penalties that could apply to volunteers under the revised statute.

The groups seek to participate in the litigation to represent their specific interests, which they say differ from those of the original plaintiffs. The court has already allowed Smart & Safe Florida, another ballot initiative sponsor, to intervene in the case.

A hearing on Florida Decides Healthcare’s motion for a preliminary injunction is scheduled for May 22.