SLOW EROSION

We haven't had any problems with our elections in Florida since 2000. There may have been some occasional hiccups, but local supervisors of elections made significant improvements in voter registration and election security from 2001-2020.

Florida became the model for the rest of the nation. That's a fact. Gov. Ron DeSantis boosted, "The way Florida did it, I think, inspires confidence; I think that's how elections should be run."

Still, without evidence of all voter fraud, the governor argued we needed to tighten voting laws a year later. His logic was, "We don't want anyone to cheat." And while he professed that "elections should be free and fair," his real agenda was to begin the slow erosion of voting rights to reduce the number of people who might vote against him.

The strategy was to keep pushing the envelope on restrictions to numb the public to state lawmakers making it more difficult to cast a ballot. Remember, politicians can't control what happens in the voting booth, but they can restrict who gets to be in that booth.

The first changes came in 2021 with SB 90. While Florida already requires identification to vote, the new law mandated additional identification information when changing voter registration information or requesting a vote-by-mail ballot. It identified a new bogeyman—ballot harvesting—and prohibited people who would help others drop off vote-by-mail ballots from possessing more than two vote-by-mail ballots other than their own.

The 48-page law required election supervisors to assign an employee to monitor ballot drop boxes and only allowed drop boxes to be accessible during early voting hours. It only allowed a request for a vote-by-mail ballot to be good for the next general election rather than two general election cycles.

"We cannot comprehend where they're coming from," said Anjenys Gonzalez-Eilert of Florida Common Cause.

A year later, Gov. DeSantis came back with more changes. When he signed SB 524, he said, "We need to do more to ensure our elections re - main secure. We have ended ballot harvesting, stopped drop boxes and the mass mailing of ballots, and banned Zuckerbucks, and this bill will give us more resources to make sure bad actors are held accountable."

The law increased the penalty for ballot harvesting from a first-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, a $5,000 fine and up to five years of probation. It created the Office of Election Crimes and Security to "investigate all election crimes in Florida"—which we learned didn't include examining GOP operatives creating ghost candidates or the dark money that Florida Power & Light and other corporations funneled to campaigns. The law also called for the Department of State to recommend a plan to strengthen ID requirements for mail-in ballots.

And the election police made 20 arrests in South Florida five days before the 2022 primary, and DeSantis wanted people to know more arrests were coming to discourage voting.

Several cases were dismissed. The statewide prosecutor secured one conviction through a plea deal. Most defendants had voter registration cards because they thought they qualified to vote because of Amendment 4, which voters approved to restore voting rights for most felons who have completed their sentences.

So what happens in 2023? Another election bill has passed and awaits the governor's signature. Republicans have targeted voter registration groups by requiring receipts for voter applications, shortening the time to turn in applications to 10 days and making it illegal for nonU.S. citizens to handle applications. The bill also alters vote-by-mail request deadlines and requires first-time voters to vote in person if they don't have proper identification.

I can't wait to see what new election laws Republicans propose next year—maybe outlaw voting by mail. But this slow erosion of rights is also happening with public education, transgender issues, home rule and health care. State lawmakers are gradually taking control of our lives. {in} rick@inweekly.net