The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida issued a final ruling yesterday, April 30, 2026, upholding a 2025 law that significantly tightens the rules for changing Florida’s constitution.
In a decision following a February trial, the court rejected several lawsuits from special interest groups that argued HB 1205 placed unconstitutional burdens on the citizen initiative process.
Passed during the 2025 legislative session and signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on May 2, 2025, HB 1205 introduced a suite of new requirements for gathering petition signatures.
The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) joined the legal fight alongside Florida Secretary of State and Attorney General James Uthmeier to defend the reforms, which they argued were necessary to prevent election fraud.
The court’s decision keeps several key provisions of the law in place. Most notably, petition circulators—whether paid or volunteer—must now be U.S. citizens and Florida residents registered with the state. The law also bars convicted felons from circulating petitions unless their voting rights have been restored and bans the practice of paying circulators based on the number of signatures they collect.
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During the two-week trial in February, plaintiffs challenged the state’s registration process and sought to block civil fines for late petition deliveries. However, the court ruled against those claims. The decision also upholds a requirement that petition sponsors, rather than taxpayers, cover the costs of processing signed petitions.
“The ability to amend our Constitution should not be compromised by fraudsters,” RPOF Chairman Evan Power said following the ruling. “We are glad the Court recognized that Florida has a constitutional right to stop fraud, ensure that petition signatures are valid and authentic, and provide increased transparency to voters.”
Other measures affirmed by the court include a limit on how many signed forms an unregistered person can possess, a new signature revocation process for voters, and a requirement that financial impact statements appear directly on the petition forms. The law also increases criminal penalties for fraudulent activities tied to signature gathering.
The ruling effectively keeps these protocols in place for any groups seeking to place constitutional amendments on future Florida ballots.
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