Judge strikes down law limiting ballot initiative donations

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A federal judge has struck down a Florida law limiting contributions to people or political committees championing ballot initiatives, ruling it violates the First Amendment.

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor in Tallahassee on Wednesday issued a permanent injunction against the law which limited to $3,000 contributions made to people and political committees sponsoring or opposing ballot initiatives. The measure passed last year and was revised this year by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature. It would have made it more cumbersome to pass ballot initiatives that amend the Florida Constitution.

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The Florida Elections Commission had argued that the law limited the potential for fraud and corruption.

“But those concerns don’t legally justify the restriction at issue,” the judge said.