State of Florida will pay $82,000 after losing vote-by-mail lawsuit

Florida is paying attorneys who represented the state and national Democratic Party more than $82,000.

Court records filed last week show the administration of Gov. Rick Scott agreed to pay the money to end a lawsuit over the state’s vote-by-mail law.

Sarah Revell, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Ken Detzner, verified the amount that will be paid.

The Florida Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee sued the state last year because the law did not require voters to be notified if their signatures on their ballot and voter registration forms don’t match. A federal judge called the law “illogical” and “bizarre.”

The Florida Legislature changed the law this spring.

Since Scott took office in 2011, the state has paid nearly $20 million to cover expenses and fees for lawyers who have sued the state.