Florida Follows Georgia's Lead, Tightening Voting Laws After 2020 Debacle
While the election of 2020 did eventually end in the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States, in many ways, it’s not over yet.
The fallout of this contest will live with us for some time still, particularly as we examine the ways in which ordinary Americans were excited and agitated to the point of believing that the election had been stolen, and that their only option was to commit violence at the US Capitol.
In order to prevent future elections from being perceived as less-than-secure, states such as Georgia are beefing up their precautionary measures – but at the cost of the liberal left accusing them of disenfranchising voters that would normally sway to the Democrats.
Now, Florida lawmakers are preparing to take similar heat as they move to secure their elections as well.
The Florida Legislature passed a sweeping election bill Thursday night that would make significant changes to mail voting in the state after a record number of Floridians voted by mail in the 2020 election.
Governor Ron DeSantis said on Fox News Thursday night that he plans to sign the bill. If he does, Florida would become the latest state to overhaul its election system in the wake of the 2020 election. Republican lawmakers around the country have proposed significant changes to the way elections are conducted and some have already been signed into law, including Georgia, Iowa and Montana.
The bill would add ID requirements for voters requesting to vote by mail. Voters would have to provide either their driver’s license or state ID number or the last four digits of their Social Security Number when asking for a mail ballot. The bill would also require this information to register to vote or to update a voter’s registration.
And that’s not all.
The bill would also make voters request mail ballots more frequently. Florida has allowed mail ballot requests to last for two general election cycles, but the new bill would require voters to request a mail ballot every general election cycle.
While the Democrats will almost certainly tell us that this is another racist ruse to raise the political prospects of Republicans, the truth of the matter is that beefing up election security could help to prevent the sort of doubt and despair that sent insurrectionists into the Capitol back in January.
