Election integrity

DeSantis pushing voting changes that could help his reelection chances

While touting Florida as a voting success story, Gov. Ron DeSantis is joining a nationwide Republican push to change laws in response to former President Donald Trump’s attack on the election system.

DeSantis unveiled his plan at a raucous campaign-like rally of mostly maskless supporters in West Palm Beach on Friday. He told them Florida needs to crack down on “ballot harvesting” and secure ballot drop boxes.

“We can’t rest on our laurels,” DeSantis said. “We need to make sure we stay ahead of the curve. We need to make sure our citizens have confidence in the elections.”

DeSantis didn’t identify any major problems on Friday with the 2020 election in Florida, calling it the “most transparent and efficient” in the country. Although he thinks Florida’s election that delivered the state to Trump ran smoothly, DeSantis said he wants to ensure there won’t be issues in the future.

The governor’s proposal would:

■ Make it illegal for people to possess ballots other than their own and their

immediate family.

Require mail ballots to be requested yearly instead of every two years.

Prohibit counties from receiving grants from private organizations for “get-out-the-vote” initiatives.

Democrats condemned the plan as a voter suppression tactic geared toward boosting DeSantis’ reelection chances next year and tapping into Trump’s unproven claims of widespread voter fraud.

Requiring voters to request a mail ballot every year would mean requests already on file for the 2022 governor’s race would need to be resubmitted, a change that could lead to confusion and suppress voting, Brigham said.

The proposal calls for banning “mass mailing” of mail ballots to registered voters, a practice that does not happen anywhere in Florida. Voters must request their mail ballot.

DeSantis also took aim at drop boxes where voters deliver their ballots, saying they need to be guarded. Brigham, though, said she didn’t hear any issues with drop boxes in Florida during the 2020 election, and counties monitored them with guards or video surveillance.

The governor’s proposal did not provide a detailed description of changes, instead listing bullet-point summaries.

The Florida Supervisors of Elections, an association of Florida’s 67 elections officials, has not taken a position on the proposal.

AMY BETH BENNETT/SOUTH FLORIDA SUN SENTINEL An unmasked Gov. Ron DeSantis greets a crowd of mostly unmasked supporters at the Hilton Airport Palm Beach in West Palm Beach on Friday.