A federal judge has blocked two provisions of a Florida law that bans foreign nationals from registering voters and makes it a third-degree felony for those collecting voter information to retain a voter’s information for purposes unrelated to voter registration.

On Monday, Judge Mark E. Walker granted a preliminary injunction against Florida officials, preventing them from imposing the law while the case makes its way through the federal courts.

Walker, in his decision, said the citizenship requirement and information retention ban provisions are “an assault on the right to vote,” detailing the law:

Effective July 1, 2023, section 97.0575(1)(f) requires 3PVROs to provide to the Department of State’s Division of Elections an affirmation stating that each person collecting or handling voter registration applications on behalf of that organization is a United States citizen. They must provide this affirmation in the required format before engaging in any voter registration activities.

Third-party voter registration organizations will be liable for a $50,000 fine for each noncitizen who collects or handles voter registration applications on behalf of that organization.

…

This provision makes it a third-degree felony for someone collecting voter registration applications on behalf of a 3PVRO to copy a voter’s application or retain “a voter’s personal information” for “any reason other than to provide such application or information to the [3PVRO] in compliance with [the] section.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), as well as Florida NAACP, filed the lawsuit seeking preliminary injunctions to prevent state officials from enforcing either provision.

Walker agreed with both the ACLU and NAACP’s cases that the provisions of the law violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, writing:

Tomorrow, Floridians across the state will commemorate our Nation’s birthday. They will endure the heat of the Florida summer to celebrate the Fourth of July with family and friends at barbecues and picnics. They will gather with their communities at public parks for music and fireworks. They will cheer and sweat at parades and block parties. And amid these patriotic festivities, some may feel moved, for the first time, to embrace their solemn privilege as citizens by registering to vote.

That’s where Plaintiffs come in. Absent the challenged provisions at issue in these cases, individuals like Ms. Herrera-Lucha and 3PVROs like the Florida NAACP and Hispanic Federation would be engaging with their communities and registering new voters. In doing so, they would embody those democratic ideals that, for nearly two hundred forty-seven years, have made our system the envy of the world.

…

Ms. Herrera-Lucha, a noncitizen who, herself, lacks the right to vote, has spent years registering and encouraging citizens to exercise that solemn right. She may, at least for now, continue to do so and add more voices to the millions of others singing a more perfect Union into existence.

The case is NAACP v. Byrd, No. 4:23-cv-00218 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.