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Three University of Florida professors were denied permission from the school to testify in a major voting rights case against the state, documents filed in federal court show.

 in May, are a coalition of voting rights organizations that are suing Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee. The groups argue that 

 the ability to vote through a drop box or vote by mail in the state, discriminates against voters of color and violates 

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed S.B. 90 into law in the first week of May.

As part of the testimony, the plaintiffs were seeking three professors from the university — Dan Smith, Michael McDonald and Sharon Austin — to testify as expert witnesses. All three specialize in voting rights and behavior and election law.

Like universities elsewhere, the University of Florida routinely allows its professors to testify in cases in which they can provide expertise, and Smith has previously testified in voting rights cases in Florida.

The documents filed Friday, though, reveal that the University of Florida denied all three professors permission to testify, saying it was a "conflict of interest" — marking a departure from normal procedure and bringing up a concerning limitation of free speech.

The professors' requests to appear as expert witnesses were filed through the university's conflict of interest office, which requires 

 to "report any outside activities and interests." 

 from the university shows that serving as an expert witness is considered to receive "low scrutiny" and is "generally approved" as long as it is "not likely to adversely impact UF's interests."

Responding to McDonald and Austin's request to testify, the university said that "litigation against the state is adverse to UF's interests," according to the documents the plaintiffs filed Friday. 

For Smith, the university said, "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." 

The plaintiffs say that since DeSantis is the head of the state's executive branch, they intend to ask if the governor's office was involved in the university's decision.

The professors' attorney, Paul Donnelly, sent a letter to the university on Friday calling the school's decision "unacceptable."

"Faculty do not forfeit their First Amendment rights as citizens by accepting an offer of employment with UF," Donnelly wrote. "Professors Smith, McDonald, and Austin testify as expert witnesses in their fields on their own time. Their testimony does not interfere with any of their job duties. There are no conflicts of interest."

The professors' lawyer calls the decision chilling for free speech

In an interview with NPR, Donnelly said that "it's unprecedented in American history for a public institution to attempt a ban like this. ... It's chilling the exercise of free thought and speech."

The University of Florida released a statement on Saturday saying it has a "long track record" of supporting free speech.

"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," the school said in an email to NPR.

"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 university has strong ties to DeSantis. The 

 of the board of trustees at the school, Mori Hosseini, is an adviser to DeSantis and a major Republican donor.  

The legal director of the ACLU of Florida, writing on behalf of Smith, said the professor was acting as a private citizen and his testimony would be crucial to the public in understanding “one of their most valuable rights."

“But perhaps most importantly, UF simply should not be looking to Governor DeSantis to decide which speech activities it will permit its employees and students to engage in," the ACLU's Daniel Tilley wrote to university officials.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Education News

Politics and Government News

Deepa Shivaram

Author

The school said having the professors testify was "adverse" to the university's interests, marking a departure from normal procedure and raising major concerns about freedom of speech.

University of Florida bars professors from testifying in voting rights case

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