Federal Judge Mark Walker issued an injunction against certain provisions in SB 7050 that aimed to impose harsh penalties for third-party voter registration organizations if they continued to operate in the state.

Along with other plaintiffs, the Florida State Conference of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) argued in a complaint that the state was barring the groups from operating in a manner that violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, among others.

Walker ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, arguing that the bill “exposed individuals working for third-party registration organizations to felony prosecution for retaining voter information without telling them to whom the prohibition applies, what they can retain, and when they can retain it.”

He further wrote in his opinion, “The Free State of Florida is simply not free to exceed the boundaries of the U.S. Constitution.”

He also took issue with a provision in the law’s “citizenship requirement” saying that it made it harder for voters of color and voters with disabilities to take part in state elections.

Eli Garcia was among those celebrating the federal judge’s ruling at a rally Tuesday in Downtown Orlando, where a small crowd of activists gathered to protest many of the new state laws that took effect in Florida over the weekend.

Garcia herself cannot vote, as an undocumented immigrant protected under the DACA (Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals) program. But she says often, she helps other immigrants who are citizens get registered to vote, through her volunteer work with Apopka’s Hope CommUnity Center.

“Many of the people that I help speak Spanish, and they feel better talking to me,” Garcia said. “They are comfortable; they trust me, and they know that I’m sharing the right information.”

But under Florida’s SB 7050, as a non-U.S. citizen, Garcia wouldn’t be allowed to do that kind of voter registration work anymore. If she did, any third-party voter organization she works or volunteers with could face penalty fines of up to $50,000.

Those kinds of fines would “ultimately bankrupt organizations completely,” according to State Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-District 42, Orlando), who spoke at Tuesday’s rally. 

Eskamani told Spectrum News she’s glad those third-party groups can continue doing their voter registration outreach work — at least for now.

“I think it’s a reminder that democracy is fragile,” Eskamani said. “We have to fight to protect it, and we’re doing that every single day.”

Garcia expressed a similarly cautious sense of relief about the preliminary injunction pausing SB 7050’s “citizenship requirement.” She said she hopes the rest of the bill’s provisions are ultimately stopped, as well. 

“People need to get out to vote. But also know that you need to defend your vote,” Garcia said. “This is the reason I do this work. Our government is saying, ‘get out to vote’ — but also limiting voting.”

When Florida lawmakers passed SB 7050 earlier this year, conservative groups like Heritage Action for America praised it as a piece of legislation that “upholds election integrity.” But critics of the bill see it as the latest in a series of attacks Florida leaders have launched against voters’ rights. 

Cesar Ruiz is an attorney with LatinoJustice, one of the plaintiff groups challenging SB 7050. Ruiz says generally, the third-party organizations targeted by the bill are community-based groups that help members of underrepresented groups become registered voters.

“These are groups that primarily operate in Black/African-American, Latino/Hispanic communities — communities of color — doing a lot of the engagement, particularly in voter registration, where the state has not really invested those resources,” Ruiz said. “These organizations kind of fill that gap.”

Reflecting on the Fourth of July holiday’s themes of freedom and independence, Ruiz said many of LatinoJustice’s clients breathed a sigh of relief after learning of the preliminary injunction. Still, he knows more challenges lie ahead. 

“Florida’s leading the ways to diminish access to the ballot, and so a lot of our focus has definitely been in Florida: understanding that, unfortunately, other jurisdictions follow their lead,” Ruiz said. “Florida has been ahead of the curve on disrupting ways that we traditionally hold elections, and how groups have engaged community members.”

The defendants in the complaint requested for Walker to simply defer the ruling until September, but he decided to enter an injunction to remove the risk of a fine completely while the third-party voter registration organizations continue to work.

SB 7050 went into effect on July 1 of this year, although some provisions, like the one that allows Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to run for president while also holding office, went into effect when it was signed.

BELOW: A portion of Spectrum News' interview with attorney Cesar Ruiz: