MI FAMILIA VOTA EDUCATION FUND SPEAKS OUT AGAINST FLORIDA'S NEW VOTER SUPPRESSION LAW HB1355

Organization submits testimony to Senate Subcommittee

Tampa, FL – January 27, 2012 – Fearing voter suppression and disenfranchisement, Mi Familia Vota Education Fund (MFV EF) will submit testimony to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights on Friday, Jan. 27 about HB 1355, a new law that attempts to complicate the voter registration process by placing onerous burden on third-party voter registration organizations.

“HB 1355 is retro-gressive to organizations like Mi Familia Vota that seek to register racial and language minorities,” said Jose Balasquide, Florida State Director for MFV EF. “In the case of the Latino community in Florida, there are approximately half a million voting-age Latino citizens who are not registered to vote. Our job to register these voters is made extremely difficult by these new rules.”

Of particular concern to Mi Familia Vota and similar organizations, is the change in policy regarding people who have recently moved. “Central Florida has been hit hard by the foreclosure crisis. It would be an insult that in addition to loosing their homes, these voters would be disenfranchised and denied the opportunity to defend their interests at the ballot box,” added Balasquide.

During Friday’s hearing, Balasquide will submit testimony to be part of proceeding records on how Florida’s new voting law has the potential for minority group discrimination. Some of the most troubling provisions of HB 1355 are: reducing the number of days for early voting from 14 to eight days, specifically prohibiting early voting on the Sunday before Election Day; requiring third-party voter registration organizations to submit voter registration applications within 48 hours of receipt; disallowing voters who move from one Florida County to another to make an address change at the polls on Election Day and vote a regular ballot; and, reducing the shelf-life of citizen initiative petition signatures proposing constitutional amendments from four years to two years.

“Mi Familia Vota has a long-standing history of increasing Latino civic participation in several states across the country. We are excited to establish an office in Florida, but HB 1355 makes us pause, “ said Ben Monterroso, National Executive Director of MFV EF. “We are committed to protecting the right of every citizen to vote and we cannot afford to stand back and watch as Latinos’ right to vote in Florida is put into question.”

State Director, Jose Balasquide and State Coordinator Wilfred Benitez, will head the new MFV EF Florida team. Before joining MFV EF, Balasquide led community efforts around social justice, redistricting and economic development issues. Benitez bring years of experience in field organizing, developing and directing grassroots mobilization efforts in Central Florida’s Latino community.

“Undoubtedly, we have our work cut out for us in Florida, but with the talented team that we have in place, I’m confident that we’re ready to take on the challenges ahead,” concluded Monterroso.

Mi Familia Vota Education Fund (MFVEF) is a nonpartisan, 501c (3) organization working to unite and build power in Latino, immigrant and allied communities and to ensure social and economic justice through increased civic engagement. For more information visit www.mifamiliavota.org.

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