After Florida has received widespread praise for its handling of the 2020 election, Republicans and Democrats clashed over a bill that would require voters to more frequently request vote-by-mail ballots.
TALLAHASSEE – Three months after a record 4.8 million Floridians cast vote-by-mail ballots, a Republican senator’s proposed dramatic change to the system drew fire Tuesday from Democrats who say it’s aimed at tamping down turnout for their party’s candidates.
Sen. Dennis Baxley’s bill sharply reducing the period that vote-by-mail requests would stay valid narrowly cleared the Senate’s Ethics & Elections Committee in a party-line vote. The Ocala Republican said the measure will safeguard security.
But Democratic senators questioned why Baxley was looking to tinker with a vote-by-mail system hailed as a Florida success in November.
“It seems like the intent of this is to reduce vote-by-mail,” said Sen. Randolph Bracy, D-Orlando.
After Florida has received widespread praise for its handling of the 2020 election, Republicans and Democrats clashed Tuesday as a Senate committee approved a bill that would require voters to more frequently request vote-by-mail ballots.