DeSantis revealed his plans Friday evening before about 100 mostly supporters in the Hilton at Palm Beach International Airport during a campaign-like rally.
While recognizing “Florida held the smoothest, most successful election of any state in the country,” the governor said the state “can’t rest on [its] laurels” and said he would offer a package of proposed bills to tighten regulations on vote-by-mail ballot drop boxes, impose safeguards against “ballot harvesting” and tamp down on “get out the vote” campaigns.
DeSantis’ proposals, outlined in a later Governor’s Office news release, drew swift praise from House Speaker Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, and Senate President Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby.
“Rather than resting on our laurels and congratulating one another on a successful 2020 election, our time is best spent preparing for 2022 and beyond,” they said in a statement. “We don’t want to backslide. We are here to keep Florida a model for the rest of America.”
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The yet-to-be Florida measures align with a nationwide wave of Republican-sponsored voting-related state legislation. According to the Brennan Center, as of Feb. 3, GOP lawmakers in 33 states had introduced more than 165 voting-related bills it considers “restrictive” compared to 35 in 15 states in 2020.
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According to the Governor’s Office, DeSantis’ proposals provide “unprecedented election transparency for Florida.” Among provisions:
Require drop boxes to be controlled 24/7 as advised by Florida’s Secretary of State Office but largely overlooked by the state’s 67 county elections supervisors. “Some of them just said go pound sand,” DeSantis said.
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Address “ballot harvesting” by forbidding people from holding ballots other than their own and their immediate family. Under state law, volunteers can now gather and drop off ballots.
Ban “mass mailing of vote-by-mail ballots” by requiring only voters who request a ballot to receive a ballot.
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Require annual renewal of vote-by-mail requests. At this moment, voters have two election rounds, four years, to update. Senate Bill 90, filed by Sen. Dennis Baxley, R-Lady Lake, would require renewal every two-year election cycle.
SB 90 advanced through the Senate Ethics & Elections Committee 5-4 on Feb. 16 and faces two more panel hearings before a floor vote.
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Vote-by-mail ballot signatures must match the most recent signature on file.
Political parties/candidates must be allowed to observe signature-matching.
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Require elections supervisors post on websites “over-vote ballots” to be considered by canvassing boards before they meet.
Prevent counties from receiving grants from private organizations to “get out the vote.”
Require “real-time reporting” of precinct-level voter turnout.
Mandate elections supervisors report how many mail-in ballots requested, received, and left to be counted.
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