In a victory for immigrants and advocacy groups, a federal judge has provisionally blocked enforcement of a Florida elections law that prohibited noncitizens from collecting signatures for citizen-led ballot initiatives.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker, in a 28-page ruling , temporarily struck down part of a controversial measure Republicans pushed to passage this year ( HB 1205 ) that empowered state officials to enforce citizenship requirements on ballot initiative collectors.

Walker’s decision, a preliminary injunction order, stops Florida’s 20 State Attorneys from prosecuting Smart & Safe Florida , the organization behind last year’s failed Amendment 3 effort to legalize recreational cannabis, and its non-resident petition circulators.

Essentially, Smart & Safe’s hundreds of

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