The new voter suppression bill --SB 7050 Elections -- has been assigned to only one more Senate Committee (Fiscal Policy) before it will be heard on the Senate floor. So far, there have been no amendments made to the bill. For those of you who need a recap of this bill's intended changes, please see the following major points from the April 4th newsletter of Democracy Docket:
Dismantle the Freedoms of First Time Voters
Requires all first-time voters without a Florida ID or social security number to vote in-person. Previously, these voters could vote by mail as long as they included a copy of an identifying document with their mail-in ballot. This is expected to have a huge toll on college voters.
More Vote by Mail Barriers
Shorten the deadline to request a mail-in ballot by one day,
Allow voters to personally pick up a mail-in ballot only if they are unable to go to an early voting location or their assigned Election Day polling place,
Direct mail-in ballot requests to be canceled if any first class mail to the voter is returned as undeliverable,
Block ballots from being counted if two or more mail-in ballots are returned in the same envelope,
Require election supervisors to add personal identifying numbers to voter records that could pave the way to requiring ID numbers on completed mail-in ballots,
Increased Burdens on Third Party Voter Registration Organizations
Would mandate that organizations re-register every single election cycle,
Prohibit organizations from prefilling information on registration applications,
Direct organizations to deliver applications within 10 days of completion, rather than 14,
Increase the fines associated with failing to comply with above requirements.
Increased Election Criminalization
Require county election supervisors to report fraudulent registrations and illegal voting to the new Office of Election Crimes and Security (OECS),
Empower the OECS to refer investigations to the Department of Law Enforcement, Office of Statewide Prosecution or the state attorney with jurisdiction,
Would require that information cards given to voters indicate that they are not “legal verification of the eligibility to vote,” despite these voters receiving registration cards and believing they were eligible to vote as a result.
Voter List Maintenance
Would strengthen requirements for list maintenance, a process that could lead to purging of otherwise eligible voters.
Please contact the following Senators on the Fiscal Policy Committee and tell them to VOTE NO on SB 7050. Senator Travis Hutson (R), Chair (850) 487-5007 Senator Linda Stewart (D), Vice Chair (850) 487-5017 Senator Ben Albritton (R) (850) 487-5027 Senator Lori Berman (D) (850) 487-5026 Senator Jim Boyd (R) (850) 487-5020 Senator Colleen Burton (R) (850) 487-5012 Senator Alexis Calatayud (R) (850) 487-5038 Senator Jay Collins (R) (850) 487-5014 Senator Nick DiCeglie (R) (850) 487-5018 Senator Ileana Garcia (R) (850) 487-5036 Senator Shevrin D. "Shev" Jones (D) (850) 487-5034 Senator Debbie Mayfield (R) (850) 487-5019 Senator Rosalind Osgood (D) (850) 487-5032 Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez (R) (850) 487-5040 Senator Corey Simon (R) (850) 487-5003 Senator Geraldine F. "Geri" Thompson (D) (850) 487-5015 Senator Victor M. Torres, Jr. (D) (850) 487-5025 Senator Jay Trumbull (R) (850) 487-5002 Senator Tom A. Wright (R) (850) 487-5008 Senator Clay Yarborough (R) (850) 487-5004
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