Florida mail-in voting rules could change under new bill being challenged by elections officials
Florida mail-in voting rules could soon change
Floridians have been allowed to mail in their ballots for any reason, without needing an excuse, since 2002. Nationwide, 43% of voters mailed in their ballots in 2020. Florida Senate Bill 1752 would change that, doing away with no-excuse mail-in ballots.
ORLANDO - Floridians have been allowed to mail in their ballots for any reason, without needing an excuse, since 2002. Nationwide, 43% of voters mailed in their ballots in 2020.
Florida Senate Bill 1752 would change that, doing away with no-excuse mail-in ballots.
Lake County Elections Supervisor Alan Hays says Florida’s elections are secure and orderly, and trying to fix what isn’t broken is not a good idea.
"I started to say ‘Poorly thought out,’ but that’s too complimentary," said Hays about the bill.
If the new bill passes, you can still vote by mail if you’re physically disabled or a caregiver for someone who is, if you’re involved with the VA, if you’re in jail, or if you’re in the military.
If you wanted to vote by mail just because you’re going out of town, you’d need to submit separate requests for every election. Right now, you only have to do that every two years.
Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles fears limiting access to mail-in voting will discourage people from casting their ballots.
"People work all odd hours and different shifts, and their employers don’t give them time off to vote. We’ve got to give them a way to participate in the process," said Cowles.
Since voting by mail would be reduced, the bill would add four extra days of early voting to make up for it.
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Lake County’s Elections Supervisor says that alone would cost taxpayers over $11 million.
Elections offices would also have to pay for the extra staff they’d need on regular election days and to process the new mail-in applications.
Hays challenged FOX 35 News to find an Elections Supervisor who supports the bill, so we started asking around.
Cowles called the bill a "huge step backwards."
Asked whether she liked the bill, Volusia County Supervisor Lisa Lewis answered simply, "No, ma’am."
Florida’s Senate President and Speaker of the House have both made statements against the bill.
Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Chris Anderson says he’s taking on the challenge and creating a bipartisan elections commission that he hopes will help prove the counts to voters 100% accurate. Regarding the bill itself, though:
"There's a myriad of different things that could cause some issues," said Anderson.
"It is just hideous public policy," said Hays.
The Presidential Preference Primary is coming up on March 19, and the deadline to register to vote in it is February 20th. That election is where voters choose the presidential nominee for their party.
Democrats only have Biden, so they don’t need to vote in this one. Republicans will pick which of the six candidates they want to be their party's nominees.
Their choice will be announced at the Republican National Convention, which is held this year from July 15 to July 18.
August 20th is the Primary Election. That’s where voters weigh in on everything but the presidency, choosing people for offices in the House and Senate, the State Attorney, the Sheriff, Supervisors of Elections, and more.
Finally, the president is chosen on Nov. 5.