The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) announced today that a federal court has granted its motion to intervene in multiple lawsuits challenging HB 1205, the recently enacted legislation strengthening election integrity in Florida’s citizen initiative constitutional amendment process.

RPOF Chairman Evan Power issued the following statement:
“We’re pleased the court has recognized our stake in defending Florida’s election integrity laws. This is an important first step in securing transparency, accountability, and the millions of Floridians. We will continue fighting to protect the integrity of Florida’s ballot and ensure voters are informed and confident in the process.”

HB 1205, passed by the Florida Legislature and signed by Governor DeSantis on May 2, 2025, adds election integrity reforms to the citizen initiative process to amend Florida’s Constitution:

• Requires paid and volunteer petition circulators to be registered with the State;
• Requires petition circulators to be U.S. Citizens and Florida residents;
• Prohibits convicted felons from being petition circulators unless their right to vote has been restored;
• Prohibits compensating petition circulators based on the number of signatures collected;
• Prohibits a person that has not registered as a petition circulator from possessing more than 25 signed petition forms (not including their own or immediate family members);
• Enhances petition verification procedures including collection of additional voter identification information;
• Revises deadlines when petitions must be submitted to the Supervisors of Elections;
• Increases fines and creates criminal penalties for fraudulent activities related to petition gathering;
• Requires the financial impact statement to be included on the petition form; and
• Requires voters to be notified of their verified signature and creates a signature revocation process for voters.

The RPOF will now fully participate in the legal proceedings to defend HB 1205 and ensure the citizen initiative process remains fair, secure, and free from fraud.