- As the Florida Secretary of State, Lee was named in a lawsuit after Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law that placed new restrictions on mail-in voting and ballot drop boxes. She tried to get the case thrown out claiming the plaintiff lodged a weak allegation and there was no reason for her to be a defendant, but a judge rejected her claim given her role in overseeing Florida elections. The law was later blocked by a federal judge who ruled it violated the Voting Rights Act.
- Lee later defended a controversial Congressional redistricting plan that sought to redraw the district of Rep. Al Lawson, a Black Democrat, under claims that it was unconstitutionally gerrymandered. Voting rights groups argued a plan to redistrict violated a 2010 Florida constitutional amendment that sought to protect the voices of minority voters. In July 2025, the Florida Supreme Court sided with Governor DeSantis’ redistricting proposal.
May 2022: Lee Defended A Republican Congressional Redistricting Plan And Claimed That Challengers To The Plan Wanted To “Revert To Some Racially Gerrymandered Map.” According to WUSF, “Attorneys for Secretary of State Laurel Lee fired back Monday at an attempt to block a new congressional redistricting plan, saying plaintiffs in a lawsuit want to ‘revert to some racially gerrymandered’ map that would stretch a district across a swath of North Florida to elect a Democrat. Lee’s attorneys filed the arguments two days before Leon County Circuit Judge Layne Smith is scheduled to hold a hearing on a request for a temporary injunction to block the redistricting plan, which Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed through the Legislature last month.” [WUSF, 5/10/22]
- The Case Centered On Congressional District Five, Which Stretched From Jacksonville To West Of Tallahassee And Tied Together Communities To Help Elect A Black Candidate. According to WUSF, "The case centers on Congressional District 5, which in recent years has stretched from Jacksonville to west of Tallahassee and has tied together communities to help elect a Black candidate. The district is held by U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, a Black Democrat. DeSantis contended that the sprawling district was unconstitutionally gerrymandered, and the plan passed by the Republican-dominated Legislature condensed the district in the Jacksonville area. Voting-rights groups and other plaintiffs filed the lawsuit and a motion for a temporary injunction, arguing that the new map violates part of a 2010 state constitutional amendment that bars diminishing the ability of minority voters to ‘elect representatives of their choice.’" [WUSF, 5/10/22]
- Florida Governor DeSantis Claimed The District Was Unconstitutionally Gerrymandered And A Plan Passed By The Republican-Dominated Legislature Called To Condense The District To The Jacksonville Area. According to WUSF, "The case centers on Congressional District 5, which in recent years has stretched from Jacksonville to west of Tallahassee and has tied together communities to help elect a Black candidate. The district is held by U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, a Black Democrat. DeSantis contended that the sprawling district was unconstitutionally gerrymandered, and the plan passed by the Republican-dominated Legislature condensed the district in the Jacksonville area. Voting-rights groups and other plaintiffs filed the lawsuit and a motion for a temporary injunction, arguing that the new map violates part of a 2010 state constitutional amendment that bars diminishing the ability of minority voters to ‘elect representatives of their choice.’" [WUSF, 5/10/22]
- Voting Rights Groups That Challenged The Redistricting Plan Said It Violated A 2010 State Constitutional Amendment That Barred Diminishing The Ability Of Minority Voters To “Elect Representatives Of Their Choice.” According to NPR WUSF, “The case centers on Congressional District 5, which in recent years has stretched from Jacksonville to west of Tallahassee and has tied together communities to help elect a Black candidate. The district is held by U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, a Black Democrat. DeSantis contended that the sprawling district was unconstitutionally gerrymandered, and the plan passed by the Republican-dominated Legislature condensed the district in the Jacksonville area. Voting-rights groups and other plaintiffs filed the lawsuit and a motion for a temporary injunction, arguing that the new map violates part of a 2010 state constitutional amendment that bars diminishing the ability of minority voters to ‘elect representatives of their choice.’” [WUSF, 5/10/22]
- 2012: The Florida Supreme Court Said The State Legislature Could Not Eliminate A District Where A Minority Group Had Historically Had The Opportunity To Elect A Candidate Of Choice Without Replacing It With Another District That Performed For Minority Voters. According to NPR, "In 2012, the state Supreme Court laid out its interpretation of the provision, explaining that the legislature cannot eliminate a district where a minority group has historically had the opportunity to elect their candidate of choice without replacing it with another district that performs for minority voters." [NPR, 11/9/24]
July 2025: The Florida Supreme Court Upheld The Congressional District Five Map Championed By Governor DeSantis. According to Florida Phoenix, "The Florida Supreme Court upheld on Thursday the state’s congressional map championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, which reconfigured a district in North Florida, erasing Black representation in that area of the state, and helped elect Republicans instead. The 5-1 opinion written by Chief Justice Justice Carlos Muñiz found the old Congressional District 5, which stretched for more than 200 miles along the Florida/Georgia border to encompass Black populations in Duval, Leon, and Gadsden counties, is likely an illegal race-based gerrymander that violates federal equal protection rights. Writing for the majority, Muñiz concluded that legislators had a ‘superior’ obligation to follow federal equal protection law, not the Fair Districts Amendment passed by Florida voters in 2010, which says districts can’t be drawn in a way that diminishes the ability of minorities to ‘elect representatives of their choice.’" [Florida Phoenix, 7/17/25]
¶ 2021: Lee Was Named IN A Lawsuit that alleged An Election Law about mail-in voting and ballot drop boxes Passed while she was Secretary Of State Was Unconstitutional
May 2021: In Her Capacity As Secretary Of State, Lee Was Sued By A Number Of Voting Rights Groups That Claimed A Newly-Passed Election Law Imposing Restrictions On Mail-In Voting And Ballot Drop Boxes Was Unconstitutional. According to Forbes, “DeSantis signed SB 90 into law Thursday morning, which imposes new restrictions on mail-in voting and ballot drop boxes in the state in the name of ‘election integrity’ despite officials acknowledging their elections in November ran smoothly and were without widespread fraud. The League of Women Voters of Florida, Black Voters Matter Fund, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans and several individual voters sued Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee, state Attorney General Ashley Moody and local supervisors of elections in federal court nine minutes after the bill’s signing, decrying SB 90 as a ‘voter suppression bill.’ […] A second lawsuit was then filed later Thursday morning by other civil rights groups including the NAACP, arguing SB 90 is a ‘restrictive and wholly unnecessary encroachment’ on the ‘fundamental’ right to vote that will disproportionately harm voters of color and disabled voters.” [Forbes, 5/6/21]
- June 2021: Lee Tried To Get A Federal Judge To Throw Out A Challenge To Florida’s New Election Laws By Arguing The Challenge Did Not Properly Spell Out Its Allegations. According to CBS News, “Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee has asked a federal judge to toss out a challenge to a controversial new elections law that includes additional restrictions on voting by mail. Lee last week filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed in May by the Florida State Conference of the NAACP, Disability Rights Florida, and Common Cause --- one of three challenges to the elections law, which has drawn national attention. The motion describes the lawsuit as a ‘shotgun’ complaint that does not properly spell out allegations and contends that Lee should not be a defendant. Unlike the other two challenges, Lee is the only defendant in the lawsuit filed by the NAACP, Disability Rights Florida, and Common Cause.” [CBS News, 6/2/21]
- December 2021: A Judge Rejected Lee’s Attempt To Throw Out The Challenge, Allowing The Case To Be Heard. According to Politico, “A legal battle over Florida’s controversial voting law is headed to trial in January, although a federal judge has thrown out one of the key arguments made by groups challenging the law. U.S. District Judge Mark Walker late Friday tossed aside a request by Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee and others to reject a lawsuit filed earlier this year by the League of Women Voters of Florida, the NAACP and others. The Republican-controlled Legislature — pushed by Gov. Ron DeSantis — approved the measure in the spring that imposed new limits on mail-in ballots and drop boxes and barred outside groups from giving out grants to help local and state election officials administer elections.” [Politico, 12/20/21]
March 2022: A Federal Judge Struck Down Florida’s Law That Sought To Restrict Mail-In Voting And Ballot Drop Boxes As A Violation Of The Voting Rights Act. According to Politico Playbook, "BREAKING IN FLORIDA — U.S. District Court Judge MARK WALKER has ruled that the restrictive voting law that Florida enacted in 2021 violates the Voting Rights Act. The ruling includes a permanent injunction against the law’s limitations on drop boxes for absentee ballots, per the Tampa Bay Times. The ruling also says Florida must obtain preclearance from federal courts before it enacts new election laws in key areas, per Gary Fineout. The ruling." [Politico, Playbook, 3/31/22]