Changes to election laws create divide

Critics say Gov. DeSantis is making ‘deceitful claims’ to justify proposed legislation

Florida’s top Republicans and Democrats are completely in agreement — a remarkably rare occurrence — about a controversial subject: the 2020 election.

Voting in Florida went off virtually flawlessly, both sides agree, with results tallied accurately and reported quickly. Even so, Florida is preparing to change its election laws.

The moves are being pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republicans who control the state Legislature. They have the votes to make whatever changes they want in the state election code during the annual legislative session, which starts Tuesday.

The cumulative effect of the proposals would be to make it more difficult for Democrats to win elections in 2022 — when the Republican governor will be seeking re-election.

Democrats are crying foul, but they’re powerless to stop the changes. They’ve been complaining, and did so again Friday.

“These election bills and proposals are not solutions. They are problems in and of themselves. And they equate to nothing short of a massive voter suppression campaign, the likes of which we haven’t seen since Jim Crow days,” said state Sen. Gary Farmer, a Broward Democrat who is his party’s leader in the Florida Senate.

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston, said it’s part of a nationwide effort by Republicans who are making “deceitful claims” about elections and using “manufactured fears of fraud.”

Republicans are building on the narrative that President Donald Trump, Republican elected officials and conservative media outlets pushed after the 2020 presidential election — what Wasserman Schultz called “The big lie that the 2020 election was stolen. It’s a destructive and dangerous lie.”

Mail ballots

Mail ballots are the central flashpoint. Republicans have proposed various changes in the rules for requesting and returning mail ballots — including cancelling all previous requests.

Under current law, if someone requests a mail ballot, the request lasts for two general