U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan says he will rule as soon as he can on Congresswoman Corrine Brown’s lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction against Florida’s early voting law.
Corrigan held a hearing Wednesday on the suit that seeks to implement the state’s former early voting rules.
In 2011 the state legislature reduced the number of days of early voting from 13 to 8. It banned early voting on the Sunday before Election Day that was previously an option and allowed Supervisors of Elections to reduce early voting hours from 96 to 48.
The plaintiffs say that difference in voting hours is discriminatory and the law was only passed to suppress minority participation. Brown says having the option to vote on the Sunday prior to Election Day is very important.
Attorneys for the state countered that unlike the previsions of previous law, the Sunday a week before the election is mandated for early voting. They said the option to reduce early voting hours was to benefit smaller populated counties that were burdened by the 96 hour mandate.
32 counties are offering 96 hours of early voting, with 8 days of 12 hours each.