All,
We are at that point with HB 7041/SB 90 Election Administration when good people are trying to make these bad voter suppression bills less awful before the final floor votes. Our Democratic State Senators and Representatives are trying their hardest to amend them by fighting for "grandfathering" of current VBM registrations and allowing for secure drop boxes. But there is one area that is still problematic and that is the issue of who can handle the VBM ballot.
The bill text still restricts the drop-off of a VBM ballot to "immediate family" members. The bill sponsors have expanded the definition to now include grandchildren, but this still ignores a big problem in Florida -- there are many elderly citizens who retired to Florida years ago and now are disabled in their homes without family nearby. Many of them are retired military. Many are the widows of military retirees. Whether they be in their own homes with caretakers or in facilities, they are completely unable to get to the polls even though they may want to do so. They may not trust the mail system to deliver their VBM ballots on time so they prefer to use a secure dropbox. Or they may have been hospitalized when their ballots arrived and now they are back home and there is no time to get a mail-in ballot to the SOE on time. Their children and grandchildren are scattered around the country and it is impossible for them to help deliver a VBM ballot.
PLEASE CONTACT SENATOR BROXSON AND YOUR INDIVIDUAL STATE REPRESENTATIVE TODAY! We are almost out of time, but ask them to please fight for a change to the bill that allows one non-immediate family member to be designated as able to handle a VBM ballot for these disabled citizens. Please don't let the Republican Legislature forget them.
Here is the contact information for those who live in Santa Rosa and Escambia Counties:
Contact Sen. Doug Broxson re SB 90: broxson.doug.web@flsenate.gov (850) 487-5001
Contact one of the following Representatives re HB 7041 District 1 --Michelle.Salzman@myfloridahouse.gov(850) 717-5001
District 2--Alex.Andrade@myfloridahouse.gov(850) 717-5002
District 3--Jayer.Williamson@myfloridahouse.gov(850) 717-5003
Thank you,
Jean Siebenaler
Legislative Chair