Florida State Senator Shervin Jones, a Democrat who represents parts of Miami-Dade, warned that Republicans in the legislature want a “significant overhaul of election laws” that aims to “eliminate vote-by-mail in Florida.”
The bill that upset the Democratic Senator is SB 1752: Elections, filed by Republican Senator Blaise Ingoglia close to the bill filing deadline in the Senate ahead of the 2024 Legislative Session. It would establish qualifications for absentee voters and define reasons to allow vote-by-mail.
The election legislation would also prohibit the Department of State from approving certain voting systems, require the department to make certain information and materials available to the public on its website within a certain timeframe, require the county canvassing board to conduct a manual count in certain precincts before certification of certain elections, among other measures related to vote-by-mail.
“The Florida Republicans are advocating for a significant overhaul of election laws, aiming to ELIMINATE vote-by-mail in Florida, with only minor exceptions,” the Democrat posted.
The section of the legislation worrying Democrats says, “A qualified absent voter may vote by mail if, on election day and during early in-person voting, the absent voter expects to be:
1. Absent from the county of his or her residence;
2. Unable to appear personally at the early voting site or polling place of the precinct in which he or she is a qualified voter because of illness or physical disability or duties related to the primary care of one or more individuals who are ill or physically disabled, or because he or she will be or is a patient in a hospital;
3. A resident or patient of a United States Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility;
or 4. Absent from his or her legal residence because he or she is confined in jail, provided that he or she is qualified to vote in the precinct of his or her residence. (b) The eligibility requirements to vote by mail set forth in paragraph (a) do not apply to voters entitled to vote by mail under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.”
Democrats are also concerned about language that would require absentee voters to submit a request for a vote-by-mail ballot for each election. It even defines that a primary election and the subsequent general election are separate elections.
“This is not the time for the people of Florida to remain passive,” Senator Shervin Jones said. “Your rights and our democracy are under an all-out attack.”
Expect some heated political debates in the legislature between both parties related to Florida’s vote-by-mail. Republican Senator Blaise Ingoglia represents Citrus, Hernando, Sumter Counties and part of Pasco County. View the proposed legislation, SB1752, online.
Raising the stakes even more on the proposed legislation, the South Florida Democratic Senator added: “Remember – ‘Democracy dies in the dark!'”
