All,
We need you to OPPOSE Florida's voter suppression bill -- SB 90 (Baxley) Elections Administration. It will be heard Tuesday April 6 at 9:30 am ET in its last Senate committee (Rules). Here are the major adverse changes outlined in the bill:
Increases the administrative burden on voters who vote by mail:
Reduces the number of elections for which one request for a vote-by-mail (VBM) ballot is sufficient. It limits requests to all elections through the end of the calendar year of the next regularly scheduled general election. There is no provision to "grandfather" requests that have already been made for elections in 2022. All requests must be new after the law takes place July 1, 2021.
Requires an additional identifier number when a written or telephonic request is made for a VBM ballot.
Makes it more difficult (or impossible) for elderly or disabled individuals to VBM with a requirement that the ballot can only be handled by the voter or an immediate family member. What about those individuals who do not have immediate family members who live nearby? This is Florida, after all, where a lot of elderly people retired without their families.
Bans the use of drop boxes for return of a VBM ballot, which essentially forces the VBM voter to mail the ballot and risk that it arrives late at the SOE office or hand the ballot directly to the SOE before 7 pm on Election Day.
Please contact the following members of the Senate Rules Committee before Tuesday and urge them to VOTE NO on this anti-democratic bill: Chair:
Senator Kathleen Passidomo (R)passidomo.kathleen.web@flsenate.gov(850) 487-5028
Vice Chair:
Senator Ileana Garcia (R)garcia.ileana.web@flsenate.gov(850) 487-5037
Senator Ben Albritton (R)albritton.ben.web@flsenate.gov(850) 487-5026
Senator Dennis Baxley (R)baxley.dennis.web@flsenate.gov(850) 487-5012
Senator Aaron Bean (R)bean.aaron.web@flsenate.gov(850) 487-5004
Senator Lauren Book (D)book.lauren.web@flsenate.gov(850) 487-5032
Senator Randolph Bracy (D)bracy.randolph.web@flsenate.gov(850) 487-5011
Senator Jeff Brandes (R)brandes.jeff.web@flsenate.gov(850) 487-5024
Senator Manny Diaz, Jr. (R)diaz.manny.web@flsenate.gov(850) 487-5036
Senator Gary M. Farmer, Jr. (D)farmer.gary.web@flsenate.gov(850) 487-5034
Senator Audrey Gibson (D)gibson.audrey.web@flsenate.gov(850) 487-5006
Senator Joe Gruters (R)gruters.joe.web@flsenate.gov(850) 487-5023
Senator Travis Hutson (R)hutson.travis.web@flsenate.gov(850) 487-5007
Senator Debbie Mayfield (R)mayfield.debbie.web@flsenate.gov(850) 487-5017
Senator Bobby Powell (D)powell.bobby.web@flsenate.gov(850) 487-5030
Senator Kelli Stargel (R)stargel.kelli.web@flsenate.gov(850) 487-5022
Senator Perry E. Thurston, Jr. (D)thurston.perry.web@flsenate.gov(850) 487-5033 Thank you, Jean Siebenaler Legislative Chair