GAINESVILLE, Fla. — After initially prohibiting three professors from testifying on Florida's implementation of a voting restrictions law, the University of Florida is reversing its stance.
"If the professors wish to testify pro bono on their own time without using university resources, they are free to do so," university President Kent Fuchs and Senior Academic Affairs VP Joe Glover wrote in a letter to students and staff.
The decision comes after UF filed documents in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida on Oct. 29, stating that Daniel Smith, Michael McDonald, Sharon Austin have been "disapproved" by the university to provide legal consulting in the lawsuit.
"UF will deny its employees’ requests to engage in outside activities when it determines the activities are adverse to its interests. As UF is a state actor, litigation against the state is adverse to UF’s interests," one of the filings read.
Another cited the professor's involvement as posing a potential conflict of interest to the state's executive branch, while also creating a conflict for UF.
The act against the trio, who was being sought to testify for a group of voting rights organizations that filed a lawsuit against the implementation of SB 90, also sparked concerns regarding free speech.
"First, we would like to be abundantly clear that the University of Florida stands firmly behind its commitment to uphold our most sacred right as Americans — the right to free speech — and to faculty members’ right to academic freedom," Fuchs and Glover wrote. "Nothing is more fundamental to our existence as an institution of higher learning than these two bedrock principles. Vigorous intellectual discussions are at the heart of the marketplace of ideas we celebrate and hold so dear."
UF also says it is appointing a task force to review its conflict of interest policy for consistency and fidelity. The policy was said to have been revised in 2020, but another look will allow UF to ensure it is advancing with its "interests while protecting academic freedom."
SB 90 changes Florida's vote-by-mail system, including restricting dropbox use to a county's early voting hours rather than allowing ballots to be dropped off 24/7, making in-person monitoring of all dropbox locations mandatory as well as a whole host of other security measures for vote-by-mail. Voters would also be required to submit vote-by-mail requests every election cycle instead of every two cycles.
Democratic lawmakers have said the law will make it harder for seniors, people of color, and individuals with disabilities to vote. The legal complaint also asserts that the new law violates the Voting Rights Act and disproportionately disenfranchises Black and brown voters.
