Dems crying foul over interference

State tells elections supervisors to guard ballot drop-off boxes

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is telling county elections supervisors that ballot collection boxes outside early voting sites have to be staffed, but the local officials’ attorney said Florida law doesn’t include any such requirement, and Democrats decried the move as an attempt at voter suppression.

Department of State General Counsel Brad McVay sent an email to supervisors on Wednesday, just days before the vast majority of the state’s 67 counties begin early voting Monday, that he said was aimed at answering questions raised by local officials about drop boxes.

The email was the second to come from the DeSantis administration in the past week that Democrats perceived as interference with the election process.

Local elections officials said Friday thatnoex-felons suspected of still owing fines or fees will be removed from voter rolls prior to the election, despite a separatememotelling them some of those voters could be ineligible.

According toMcVay’s interpretation of state lawand a rule, drop boxes have to be watched by an elections official or an armed law enforcement officer at all times.

“This requirement serves a necessary purpose,” he wrote. “The statute requires that drop boxes remain secure fromthose who intend to do harm to the boxes (or the contents within them). A person onsite can prevent foreign substances or small incendiary devices (like firecrackers) from being thrown into the dropbox; video monitoring cannot do the same.”

But Ron Labasky, general counsel of the Florida Supervisors of Elections association, told his clients state lawdoesn’t require the drop boxes to be monitored in person.

“Drop boxes that are at the main office, a branch office or early voting site are required to be secure, but I don’t see that there is any staffing requirement or hours of operation related to those drop boxes, per (a section of state law),” Labasky wrote in an email to supervisors Thursday. “There is no definition of secure, so inmy view, that is within the discretion of the supervisor.”

Democrats accused DeSantis, an ally of President DonaldTrump, of meddling in the election.

“Any and all efforts to make it more difficult for Floridians to vote should be called out for what they are: voter suppression,” Jackie Lee, Biden’s Florida campaign director, said in a prepared statement.

Drop boxes are among myriad elections-related controversies in Florida, a battleground state whose 29 electoral votes are considered crucial for a White House win in the Nov. 3 election.

Withsupervisorsencouraging Floridians to vote by mail because of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of mail-in ballots has exploded.

Due to uncertainty about theU.S. postal system, many voters are choosing to drop off their ballots rather than risk having them delivered too late to count.

Florida mail-in ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.

According to McVay, supervisors are allowed to place the boxes outside buildings, but they “must be properly staffed and secure” at all times.

Supervisors’ employees and sworn lawenforcement officers may be used to monitor the discretionary drop boxes, but volunteers are not permitted, McVay said.

County elections officials will use their discretion about whether to have live monitors.

“Supervisors have evaluated the security of drop boxes located at their offices or early voting sites, which may not require a person observing or monitoring the box at all times,” Labasky said Friday.