Sun Sentinel Broward Edition

Sweeping elections law overhaul heads to votes in Fla. House and Senate

- By Dara Kam

TALLAHASSE­E — One of the 2021 legislativ­e session’s most-controvers­ial issues — a sweeping elections package that would make it harder for Floridians to vote by mail — is headed to the Senate floor for a vote, after a Republican-dominated committee signed off on the proposal Tuesday.

The Senate Rules Committee devoted hours last week to the issue, hearing impassione­d speeches from voting- and civilright­s organizati­ons and Democratic lawmakers who asserted that the proposed changes target Black, Hispanic and older voters. The committee ran out of time before voting on the measure, but Chairwoman Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, put it at the top of the panel’s Tuesday agenda.

The committee spent less than 30 minutes Tuesday considerin­g the package, which addresses elections supervisor­s’ use of ballot drop boxes; signature matching on mail-in ballots; and a host of other administra­tive issues related to voting by mail and election administra­tion.

The proposal, which is similar to voting-related legislatio­n being passed or considered by Republican-led state houses throughout the nation, comes after Florida Democrats for the first time outnumbere­d Republican­s in voting by mail in the November election

“So that has led many to ask us, you know, why are we doing this? Why, after such an effective election cycle with great enfranchis­ement of so many people in a methodolog­y that proved to be so desirable to so many voters?” Senate Minority Leader Gary Farmer, D-Lighthouse Point, said before the committee voted 10-7 to approve the bill (SB 90).

Critics of the measure repeatedly have pointed to comments made by Gov. Ron DeSantis and other GOP leaders, who boasted that Florida’s handling of the presidenti­al election should be used as a model for other states.

“We believe this bill does go too far and will result in potential disenfranc­hisement,” Farmer added. “Provisions of this bill are going to be problemati­c for Florida voters.”

Sen. Jeff Brandes was the lone Republican to join Democrats in opposing the bill.

Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, noted that “not one Republican supervisor of elections” — including Lake County Supervisor of Elections Alan Hays, a former state senator whom Brandes called a “staunch conservati­ve” — supports the elections revamp.

“I want to make sure that Floridians understand that the Republican­s that have run for office to represent a fair election process in the state of Florida, not one Republican supervisor has stood up and said they support this piece of legislatio­n,” Brandes said.

But bill sponsor Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, said he modified the bill in part to assuage concerns that the vote-by-mail changes were too harsh.

“I understand that elections are controvers­ial, and I also understand there’s a fear we’re trying to take away the right of people to vote. I also want you to know that is not the motivation of this bill. That is not the intention of the sponsor,” Baxley, who chairs the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee, said. “The purpose, at least for me, has always been to clarify our intent for secure, fair and even-handed elections.”

One of the most contentiou­s issues in the bill addresses drop boxes, which became a flashpoint last year after local elections supervisor­s wrangled with DeSantis’

administra­tion over the boxes’ locations and whether they were required to be staffed in person.

More than 1.1 million Floridians submitted their mail-in ballots at drop boxes amid the coronaviru­s pandemic in November.

An original version of the Senate bill would have done away with drop boxes altogether. But an amendment proposed by Baxley and adopted by the committee last week would allow supervisor­s to use drop boxes during early voting hours, so long as the boxes are manned by elections office employees.

A House version of the bill (HB 7041), also ready for a floor vote, would make it more difficult to drop off mail-in ballots, requiring people to show identifica­tion when they submit ballots at drop boxes or provide a written “attestatio­n” that they have permission to submit other voters’ ballots.

Leon County Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley said the drop-box identifica­tion and attestatio­n provisions “are unworkable.” People don’t have to show identifica­tion when they return ballots using the U.S. Postal Service.

“That is a hurdle that has no use but will have big logistical impacts on how we can manage our drop boxes and our early voting sites,” because they are at the same locations, Earley said. “You jam one up, you’re jamming up both processes.

Another contentiou­s issue deals with voter signature verificati­on. Under the latest version of the bill, voters’ signatures could only be verified against signatures within the preceding four years. If a “wet” signature —- a hard copy on paper with a pen or other writing utensil —- is not available within the past four years, verifiers could use the most recent “wet” signature on record.

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