A new Florida law championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing legal pushback just days after its signing, with critics saying it will erode efforts for citizen-led amendments to the state constitution. The law, passed in the waning hours of the legislative session and signed by the governor hours later on Friday, imposes new restrictions on the ballot initiative process. Among the changes; limiting how many petitions a volunteer can collect, mandates that voters provide more personal information when signing, and shortens the deadline for submitting signatures for verification. “This is not reform. This is repression, and we are calling it what it is — a direct assault on the voice of the people,” said Mitch Emerson the Campaign Director for Florida Decides Healthcare (FDH). FDP is currently campaigning to expand Medicaid coverage in the state. The group has already collected tens of thousands of signatures in an effort to get a question on the ballot in 2026 and argue the new law makes the already challenging process of getting a proposed amendment on the ballot nearly impossible. “This law is a machete taken to a system that needs a scalpel,” added Emerson. FDP, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and The Elias Law Group filed a federal suit against the state Sunday night, listing state election officials, the AG and all 67 county supervisors as defendants. The complaint claims the new restrictions violate First Amendment rights to free speech and association, and undermine the principles of participatory democracy. Gov. DeSantis pushed lawmakers to pass the reforms, saying the changes were necessary to prevent fraud and limit the influence of corporate interests in Florida’s constitution. “It’s a cottage industry where people are getting paid to generate petitions and so they can sign names and then get more money. And it's got to stop,” DeSantis said January.