After hearing arguments in Gainesville on Monday, a federal judge said he would decide in a few days whether to take steps to suspend a Florida law affecting political speech.
Four groups, including the UF College Libertarians, filed a lawsuit earlier this month stating that Florida's electioneering communications law infringes on their First Amendment rights to free speech.
The law requires groups or people that spend money to comment on a candidate or ballot issue to register with the state. Registered groups must disclose information about their contributors and report their organizations' income and expenditures.
Bert Gall, a senior attorney for the Institute for Justice, argued on behalf of the groups at Monday's hearing.
Gall said the law could only regulate speech that advocates a particular candidate or issue, while these groups were only creating political awareness.
"The state cannot regulate the speech of community groups that just want to discuss politics," he said.
The law was intended to affect larger political groups with more resources, he said.
"At the end of the day, the idea that a flier put out by the UF College Libertarians or a page in a newsletter is harming the election process is wrong," Gall said.
Jonathan Alan Glogau, an assistant attorney general for the state of Florida, defended the law, saying it is intended to create transparency.
"The organizations don't want to tell us who is contributing to them, but the voters have a right to know who is speaking to them," Glogau said.
A suspension of the law would affect more groups than the ones involved in the lawsuit and have a large impact, he said.
Any burden created by the law is minimal, he said.
Neal Conner, president of the UF College Libertarians, said he wished the judge had ruled in favor of the injunction but that legal proceedings take time.
Conner said he had hoped to advertise a Thursday meeting of the group to which local judicial candidates would be invited. An article in Monday's Alligator incorrectly reported that the meeting was scheduled for Wednesday.
The UF College Libertarians have requested that the court come to a decision on the case by Thursday, Conner said.
