UPDATE, NOV. 6:
Three professors have filed a lawsuit against the University of Florida over denial of free speech, despite the university administration reversing its ban on their court testimony about the state’s restriction of voting rights.
The complaint asks a court to declare unlawful the policy of “stifling faculty speech against the State”. It cites the University’s mission “to share the benefits of its research and knowledge for the public good”, and commitment to the principles of academic freedom and free speech.
ORIGINAL ENTRY, NOV. 1: The University of Florida blocks three professors from testifying in a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s restrictions on voting rights.
The University’s administration declared a conflict of interest, even though professors have for years testified in lawsuits involving the state, including one over voting rights for convicted felons.
In May, Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature passed the restrictions at the urging of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Trumpist and possible candidate for President in 2024, and as proponents pushed Donald Trump’s lie that the November 2020 election was stolen from him. The measures limit dropboxes and mail-in ballots; adds new identification requirements for ballot requests; requires reapplications for absentee ballots in each election cycle; and gives partisan election observers more power to raise objections.
Lawsuits filed by groups such as the League of Women Voters of Florida, Florida Rising Together and the Florida branch of the NAACP argue that the restrictions target minority, elderly, and disabled voters.
Internal emails and text messages, obtained by POLITICO, document the drafting of the law with the help of the Republican Party of Florida’s top attorney, with the restriction of mail-in ballot requests pursued by the GOP to erase the advantages that Democrats had in the 2020 elections.
DeSantis’s office is trying to block the handover of documents and other information on the creation of the law and who was involved. The Governor has refused to be questioned, claiming communications about legislation are privileged.
“A First Amendment Right”
Michael McDonald, one of the three professors blocked from testifying, said, “As Americans, we have a First Amendment right to exercise our free speech on our own time. We will not back down from the University of Florida’s decision.”
See also Coronavirus: Florida Strips Federal Funding from Schools With Mask Mandates
The other two professors barred by the university are Dan Smith, a specialist in how political institutions affect political behavior, and Sharon Austin, an expert in Black voters.
Lawyers for the academics are asking if DeSantis was involved in the university’s ban. Professor Daniel Tilley, the head of the Political Science Department, was told by administrators that “outside activities that may pose a conflict of interest to the executive branch of the state of Florida create a conflict for the University of Florida.”
Tilley noted in a letter that Gov. DeSantis has proclaimed himself a protector of freedom of expression, declaring a law requiring universities to carry out surveys to measure “viewpoint diversity”.
It is actually by prohibiting Dr. Smith’s speech that the University is contravening the repeatedly expressed free speech values of the State of Florida and its Governor. But perhaps most importantly, UF simply should not be looking to Governor DeSantis to decide which speech activities it will permits its employees and students to engage in. That is precisely the opposite of the values that universities are thought to stand for.
Hessy Fernandez, a university spokesperson, insisted:
The University of Florida has a long track record of supporting free speech and our faculty’s academic freedom, and we will continue to do so. It is important to note that the university did not deny the First Amendment rights or academic freedom of professors Dan Smith, Michael McDonald and Sharon Austin. Rather, the university denied requests of these full-time employees to undertake outside paid work that is adverse to the university’s interests as a state of Florida institution.
The United Faculty of Florida, the union representing university academic staff, rejected the university’s “outrageous claim”: “UF does not exist to protect @GovRonDeSantis or any party,” it posted on Twitter.
