By getting rid of all the drop boxes, their calculation is that this will help them.” “The calculation in Wisconsin by the Republicans is that more Democrats vote by absentee ballot overall than Republicans so they view it in their interests to be able to restrict how absentee ballots are returned. Democrats said that would unduly burden low-income African American and Hispanic voters, who are less likely to have such documentation than white voters.“This is designed specifically to make sure that many of the absentee ballots that are cast will not be counted simply because they didn't get there in time or were not returned properly,” explains Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause Wisconsin. The legislation would also require voters to provide a Florida driver's license number, state identification number or the last four digits of a Social Security number when requesting a mail-in ballot or changing party affiliation. "We may not have to take a test, count bubbles or marbles or any other such nonsense, but this bill is tantamount to the same thing." Audrey Gibson during debate of the bill, according to News Service of Florida. "Since voting is a right, why would we, as a state, attempt to reduce the right of a person to exercise their right to vote and in the manner in which they decide to vote?" said Democratic state Sen. Republican-led state legislatures across the country are considering a broad range of restrictions on voting access, in particular for voting by mail, which surged during the pandemic.įlorida Democrats condemned the Senate measure as yet another example of historic efforts to restrict voting by African Americans. DeSantis, like much of the Republican Party, has refused to condemn Trump's false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Tighter rules on voting are a major legislative priority of DeSantis, a close ally of former President Donald Trump. Politics After Georgia: Here Are 4 States To Watch Next On Voting Legislation And no one but an election worker could distribute items, including food and beverages, within 150 feet of polls or drop boxes. Those who wanted to vote by mail would have to request a mail ballot every election cycle, rather than every two, as under current law. SB 90 passed on a near party-line vote of 23-17, with one Republican joining all Democrats in opposition.Īmong other changes to Florida voting laws, the bill would put an end to 24/7 ballot drop boxes they would have to be monitored in-person by an elections official and would only accept ballots during early voting hours. Florida's legislative session is scheduled to end Friday. The two chambers must approve an identical measure for it to reach Republican Gov. The Florida state Senate on Monday approved tighter vote-by-mail regulations in a bill that in recent days was made less stringent after neighboring Georgia's new voting restrictions elicited widespread condemnation.Ī stronger version of the Florida legislation is still under consideration in the state's House of Representatives. The Florida state Senate on Monday passed a bill that would reduce access to drop boxes. An election worker stamps a vote-by-mail ballot dropped off by a voter before placing it in an official ballot drop box at the Miami-Dade County Board of Elections in Doral, Fla., in October 2020.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |