South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Gov. DeSantis orders guards outside ballot drop boxes at early voting sites.
TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is telling county elections supervisors that ballot collectionboxesoutsideearly votingsiteshavetobestaffed, but the local officials’ attorney said Florida lawdoesn’t include any such requirement.
Department of State GeneralCounselBradMcVay sent an email to supervisors onWednesday — just days before the vast majority of the state’s 67 counties begin early votingMonday— that hesaidwasaimedatanswering questions raised by local officials about dropboxes.
According to McVay’s interpretation of state law and a rule, drop boxes have to be manned by an electionsofficialoranarmedlaw enforcement officer at all times.
“Thisrequirementservesa necessarypurpose,” hewrote. “The statute requires that drop boxes remain secure from those 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) frombeing thrown into the drop box; video monitoring cannot do the same.”
But Ron Labasky, general counseloftheFloridaSupervisors 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 staffingrequirementorhours of operation related to those drop boxes, per (a section of state law),” Labasky wrote in an email to supervisors Thursday afternoon. “There is no definition of secure, so inmy view that is within the discretion of the supervisor.”
SouthFloridaelectionofficials say they aren’t making changes as a result of the late guidance from the state and
willkeeptheir24-hourboxes open.
Broward County has
24-hour drop boxes at the two Supervisor of Elections offices, and that isn’t changing, said Steve Vancore, a spokesman for Broward Supervisor of Elections Pete Antonacci. They’re located at the county Governmental Center in Fort Lauderdale andatthebackoftheLauderhillMall.
Palm Beach County has four “video- monitored”
24-hour drop boxes at the main elections office at 240 S. Military Trail in West Palm Beach and three branch offices in Delray Beach, Palm Beach Gardens and Belle Glade. Those sites will continue to be available aroundthe clock, said Alison Novoa, a spokeswoman for Supervisor of Elections WendySartory Link.
Miami-Dade County does
nothave24-hourdropboxes, said Roberto Rodriguez, a spokesman for Supervisor of Elections Christina White. Drop boxes at 33 early-voting sites will be guarded and available from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. when early voting kicks off Monday throughNov. 1.
Voters can drop off mail ballots on Nov. 2 and Elec
tionDayfrom7 a.m.-7p.m. at four electionofficesinDoral, Miami, Miami Gardens and CutlerBay.
Drop boxes are among myriad elections-related controversies in Florida, a battleground state whose 29 electoral votes are considered crucial for a White Housewinin theNov. 3election. Recentpollshaveshown PresidentDonaldTrumpand hisDemocraticopponentJoe Biden in a neck-and-neck race in theSunshineState.
With supervisors encouraging Floridians to vote by mailbecauseofthecoronaviruspandemic, thenumberof 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. Election Day tobe counted.
According to McVay, supervisors are allowed to placetheboxesoutsidebuildings, but they“mustbeproperly staffed and secure” at all times. Supervisors’ employees and sworn lawenforcement officersmay be used to monitor discretionary drop boxes, but volunteers are not permitted, McVay said.
A rule finalized by Secretary of State Laurel Lee in April, highlighted byMcVay inWednesday’smessage, said thatsecuredropboxes“must beclearly labeled, sealedand placed in an area where a designated election board member maintains custody and control of the drop box at all times.”
But Labasky said “there is no mention of those requirements” in state elections law.
“Thisisaletter, notaformal advisory opinion and not a ‘directive,’ which as Judge Walker last week noted the secretary (of state) have little ornoauthoritytoissue, based on her own stated legal position,” Labasky wrote, referring to U.S. District Judge Mark Walker’s comments duringanunrelatedelections lawsuit. “As the letter states, it’s the department’s interpretation of the law. As such I think a supervisor can take it as they choose to.”
County elections officials — some of whom are relying on volunteers to monitor drop boxes — 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 ormonitoring the boxatalltimes,” Labaskytold TheNews Service of Florida onFriday.
Democrats decried the movebyLee’soffice, accusing DeSantis— a staunch ally of Trump— of meddling in the middleofanelection.
“Anyandalleffortstomake 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.
Nearly 2.3 million Floridians had voted by mail as of Friday morning, and drop boxes already are in use, JackieLeepointed out.
“Non-binding, last minute guidance from the state just causes confusion. Floridians should just keep doing what they are doing: voting, undistractedbytheseefforts. Our campaign will remain focused on ensuring that every single eligible Floridianisabletoeasilyandconveniently cast their ballot,” she said.
State lawallows voters to place vote-by-mail ballots in a “secure drop box” located at supervisors of elections’ main and branch offices and at early voting sites. In addition to their own offices, the law allows supervisors to use public libraries, courthouses, civic centers, stadiums, fairgrounds, county commission buildings and government-owned senior centers or community centers as early voting sites.
“Secure drop boxes may also be placed at any other site that would otherwise qualify as an early voting site … provided, however, that any such site must be staffed during the county’s early voting hours of operation by an employee of the supervisor’s office or a sworn law enforcementofficer,” thelaw says.
In response to a question about whetherworkers can be “deputized” to monitor discretionary drop boxes, McVay wrote that supervisors must make sure that “your relationship with the person makes that person ‘anemployeeof youroffice.’”
Only “an actual person onsite can help prevent ballots frombeing spoiled or destroyed,” McVaywrote.
“Bottomline: Anemployee or law enforcement officer physically present at the drop box locations can help protect the integrity of the drop boxes (and their contents) while also helping peoplewhointend to use the dropboxestovote,” hewrote.
McVayalsosaiddropboxes
cannotbeused24hoursaday at “discretionary” sites, and must be staffed around-theclock if used at supervisors of elections’ offices. Some supervisors said Friday they will continue to employ
24-hour drop boxes, despite McVay’s admonitions.
The Palm Beach County elections office also will be using 25 mobile vans staged in parking lots throughout the county to assist voters in the delivery effort. The vans willsitinparkinglotsatearly voting locations and other spots— an attractive option forthoseworriedaboutcoronavirusgermsandslowmail.
Palm Beach County ElectionsSupervisorLinksaidthe vans arewrapped with elections signage. Voters should familiarize themselves with the look of the vans, and take care not to hand their ballot over to anyone else. Her employeeswillbeinuniform.
The move to restrict drop boxes by the Republican governor’s administration drew fire on social media on Friday.
“The Republican war on ballot drop boxes continues. What a shameful and pathetic party the GOP has become,” Marc Elias, an attorney who frequently represents Democrats in elections-related lawsuits, saidonTwitter.