VOTER

ing when registering, also are publicly available.

Some companies make public records requests for voter information and then place it online.

HB 761, if passed, would restrict access to that information to election officials, individual voters asking about themselves and political parties, candidates or their committees for “political purposes” only. Those purposes are undefined, however, in the measure.

Such information is “personal and sensitive and could be misused by a dishonest person if placed in the public domain with the applicant’s or the voter’s name,” the bill states. “The potential for harm that results from unfettered access … exceeds any public benefit.”

In addition, the bill states, “such information may be used for consumer scams, unwanted solicitations, or other forms of invasive contacts.” The bill is more sweeping than its closest state Senate counterpart, SB 532, introduced by state Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon. That bill would only restrict access to information about 16- and 17-year-olds who preregister to vote once they turn 18. Petersen said she had no issue with that bill.

Petersen said Stevenson’s bill, in restricting media and researchers while allowing access to political groups, would fail to remedy the very thing Stevenson’s constituents were worried about.

“She said people were complaining about all the nighttime calls,” Petersen said. “But those calls are not coming from [media and researchers]. They’re coming from the people still allowed access — political parties, candidates and PACs.”

Petersen said a bill passed last year would have restricted access to voter emails.

“Gov. Scott vetoed that bill,” she said. “He didn’t do that because I asked him. He doesn’t listen to me. It’s because political parties and PACs wanted [the emails].”

Besides political activist groups, which would be “screwed” without access to voter information to reach potential voters, Petersen said news organizations and research institutions have done important work using the data, including investigating allegations of voter fraud.

Mike Ertel, Republican supervisor of elections of Seminole County, said he backs the bill but echoed Petersen’s concerns about its effects on news gathering and research.

He said journalists and political scientists “do pretty important analysis, and y’all need to be able to do these things after elections.”

Ertel said his concerns about privacy are real and cited the companies using voter rolls to create databases with people’s personal information.

“People are putting out websites based on nothing but Florida voter data,” Ertel said. “Everything’s on there: where you used to live, phone numbers. People just want to register and take part in the process. They don’t want to open themselves to exposure and bad actors.”

Bill Cowles, Orange County supervisor of elections, said he could see both sides of the issue.

“There [are] changing attitudes of voters about their records,” Cowles said, with people becoming more sensitive about identity theft and fraud as more of their lives move online.

Stevenson said she was researching how other states limit access to voter data, including Georgia’s ban against using it for campaign purposes and California’s allowances for “scholarly reasons.”

She added she was still working on the bill and pledged to find a balance that would please all sides.