A federal judge declared Wednesday evening that the state of Florida would temporarily stop enforcing an electioneering communications organizations law for groups that raise political awareness.
The law will be on hold until a later court case determines whether it is constitutional, the injunction stated.
A hearing on the law was held in Gainesville on Monday after a lawsuit stated that the law infringed on First Amendment rights.
The lawsuit was filed earlier this month by four groups across the state, including UF's College Libertarians, against both the Florida Secretary of State and the Florida Elections Commission.
Jennifer Krell Davis, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Kurt Browning, said the state is asking political awareness groups registered as electioneering communication organizations, such as the UF College Libertarians, to contact the state to see if they are eligible to "de-register."
Groups involved in campaigning, rather than only raising awareness, will still be required to register with the state.
Davis said the Secretary of State would continue to enforce campaign code and other laws upheld by the state of Florida.
"We will continue to do our duty in defending the election code," she said.
Bert Gall, an attorney with the Institute of Justice who argued against the law in a hearing Tuesday, said the injunction is a "tremendous" victory for the First Amendment.
"Our clients and people across the state of Florida are free to speak about politics without fear of being punished," Gall said.
He said the case should continue for the next few months until a judge decides on the law's constitutionality.
"Now we just have to win," he said.
Neal Conner, the president of the UF College Libertarians and chairman of the Alachua County Libertarian Party, said he thinks the injunction is a positive sign that the law will be found unconstitutional in a final case.
"We expect the First Amendment to be upheld," Conner said.
"The case itself is really a no-brainer."
