Secretary of State Kurt Browning has decided to step down from his position at the end of February.
According to a press release from Gov. Rick Scottās office, āBrowning will continue to serve as Secretary of State until February 17, after Floridaās Presidential Preference Primary on January 31.ā
Browning has been key in the stateās implementation of its controversial elections law passed last year.
As the state waits for five counties to receive federalĀ preclearanceĀ to implement the new law, as required by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Browning filed a lawsuit claiming that the preclearance requirement is āunconstitutional.ā The Voting Rights ActĀ was written to outlaw discriminatory voting rules.
Browning had served as Secretary of State from 2006 till April 2010,Ā before being reappointed by Scott last year. After leaving his position in 2010, Browning led a group calledĀ Protect Your Vote, a political committee largely bankrolled by the Republican Party of Florida that aimed to defeat Floridaās so-called āFair Districtsā amendments, which somewhat ties the Legislatureās hands when redrawing congressional districts. Fair District amendments were created to prevent legislators from protecting incumbents and giving an edge to one party over another.
The Florida Independentās Bianca FortisĀ reported back in October 2010Ā thatĀ Browning had a controversial past in as secretary of state during Charlie Christās governorship, as well.
Fortis reported thatĀ he ācame under fire in 2008Ā when he enforcedĀ Floridaās Voter Registration Verification LawĀ ā which was nicknamed āNo Match, No Voteāā:
The law, first approved by the Florida legislature in 2005, requires new voters to submit an identifying number, usually a driverās license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number, so the state can confirm an applicantās identity.
If a match could not be found, the applicant was considered ineligible to vote.
The state was releasing lists of unmatched names as late asĀ a week before the Nov. 4, 2008 election.Ā āAfrican-Americans and Hispanics combined account for 55 percent of would-be voters on the latest list [released Oct. 28, 2008], which includes 6,194 Democrats and 1,440 Republicans,āĀ reported theĀ Times. The law is still in effect today.
Browning also made the controversial decision to have a D.C. court preclearĀ the moreĀ controversialĀ aspects of the stateās new elections law, as opposed to asking for U.S. Department of Justice approval.
The Miami Herald reports that āthere has been talk that [Browning’s] considering running for the elected post of Pasco County superintendent of schools next fall.ā