Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Byrd too partisan to oversee Fla. elections
The whole country will be watching Florida on election night in November, and nobody has a bigger personal stake in the outcome than Gov. Ron DeSantis.
He must win big to be taken seriously as a presidential contender in 2024 — and he did not win big last time.
Against Andrew Gillum, a far-left progressive who would have been Florida’s first Black governor, DeSantis clawed his way to victory by only 32,463 votes, or four-tenths of a percentage point. It took a recount to validate the closest governor’s race in Florida history.
Whether you love DeSantis or despise him, no politician with a vested interest in the outcome of an election should be able to influence the mechanics of voting in any way. But the law gives the governor power to appoint the Secretary of State who oversees elections, and DeSantis has chosen a Republican ally with no expertise in elections, a history of excessive partisanship and a provocative streak — as he showed in the legislative session.
This hiring decision is a frightening case of flawed judgment by DeSantis and spells trouble, especially if the next race for governor is anywhere near as close as the last one. Senate Democrats are calling for confirmation hearings on state Rep. Cord Byrd’s appointment during next week’s special session on property insurance.
It’s a valid request Republicans are ignoring.
Untimely vacancy
For nearly 3 ½ years this critically important office was held by Laurel Lee, a former circuit judge who had no personal history in partisan politics. Professional and evenhanded, Lee gained the admiration of the true elections experts in Florida, the 67 county supervisors who oversee voting in every community in the state.
Lee’s unexpected resignation last week, ostensibly to run for a Tampa Bay congressional seat, created an untimely vacancy for DeSantis to dramatically politicize an office that should be above partisanship, especially in the run-up to an election.
To replace Lee, DeSantis veered far to the right and chose Byrd, a reliable supporter of the DeSantis agenda on issues such as abortion and immigration, which likely reflects the prevailing philosophy in his Jacksonville-area district. He was a leader in passing the so-called “anti-riot” law to quell protests and a ban on sanctuary cities.
A self-described firearms-law expert, Byrd also supports DeSantis’ efforts to legalize the open display of firearms in Florida.
“Citizens should not need a license from the government to exercise a constitutional right,” Byrd wrote on his Facebook page April 29. “The time is now to make this happen!”
This is the person who will oversee the newly created elections police force in the state Division of Elections.
As a legislator Byrd had a record of favoring new barriers to voting. During a special session in April, he supported DeSantis’ flawed Congressional map that reduced Black voting strength in North Florida and is now being challenged in court.
He clashed with Black legislators during a House debate in February on a 15-week abortion ban. FloridaPolitics.com quoted Byrd as confirming that in an aside to a colleague in a late-night floor session, he referred to Democrats as “f—-ing idiots.” Democratic Rep. Angie Nixon tweeted her disgust at Byrd’s “unhinged” behavior: “He clearly has biases and lacks composure.”
This extreme partisanship is increasingly the norm in the Legislature, but it’s not the type of temperament Floridians deserve overseeing elections.
To make things worse, Byrd’s wife Esther, a DeSantis appointee to the state Board of Education, is a Proud Boys supporter who has defended the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach and far-right QAnon conspiracy cult.
Cut the cord
It’s time for Byrd to cut ties with a dangerous, extreme and unhinged Republican agenda.
“He’s in a nonpartisan role [so] he has to represent each and every person equally,” Cecile Scoon, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, told the Sun Sentinel. “I hope he understands he has a different role now.”
Byrd must put all partisan rhetoric aside, including his previous attacks on the courts, the very last line of defense against Republican voter suppression tactics. He recently tweeted his glee that a federal appeals court stayed a lower-court order striking down portions of a 2021 election law that he and fellow Republicans supported so enthusiastically.
Byrd’s first public appearance as Secretary of State will be next Tuesday, when he is expected to appear at a statewide conference of election supervisors in Sandestin, on Florida’s northwest coast.
He should take the opportunity to denounce the theory still so popular in Republican political circles that Donald Trump’s 2020 “victory” was stolen. He should denounce anything that undermines public confidence in the reliability of our elections, as the supervisors themselves did in a statement last October.
“We ask all candidates and elected officials to tone down the rhetoric and stand up for our democracy,” supervisors said. “We ask that you work with us to understand the safeguards implemented to ensure elections are conducted fairly, securely and accurately.”
Prove that we judged you too hastily, Secretary Byrd. Put partisan politics aside.
Remember that as Secretary of State you work for us, not just for Ron DeSantis.
The Sun Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Editorial Page Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Editorial Page Editor Dan Sweeney, and Editor-in-Chief Julie Anderson. Editorials are the opinion of the Board and written by one of its members or a designee. To contact us, email at letters@sun-sentinel.com.