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DeSantis proposes voting restriction bills for Florida lawmakers to pass this session

February 19, 2021. Summarized by summa-bot.

Compression ratio: 46%. 1 min read.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a slate of voting proposals Friday that he wants lawmakers to pass in their upcoming legislative session, including restricting the mass mailing of mail-in ballots and access to ballot drop boxes.

(CNN)Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a slate of voting proposals Friday that he wants lawmakers to pass in their upcoming legislative session, including restricting the mass mailing of mail-in ballots and access to ballot drop boxes.

At a news conference Friday in West Palm Beach, DeSantis, a Republican, argued that the legislation proposals will increase residents' confidence in Florida elections, strengthen election security, and transparency in the election process.

DeSantis continued to peddle false claims about election security, though there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.

One of the proposals would ban vote-by-mail ballots from being sent out to all residents, making it so only voters who request a ballot would receive one.

Under the proposal, voters would need to request an absentee ballot each election year.

Another proposed measure would "address the use of ballot boxes," which DeSantis called "a big problem" and argued that residents should either mail their absentee ballot or drop it off at an election office.

DeSantis also wants lawmakers, when they convene in March, to bolster the vote-by-mail signature verification process and to not "shut out" Florida political parties and candidates from observing the voter signature matching process.

Other proposals would prohibit counties from accepting financial help from private organizations for "get out the vote" initiatives, require election supervisors to post "over-vote" ballots for the canvassing board to consider, and real-time reporting of voter turnout data.

Praising Florida's handling of the 2020 election, DeSantis told supporters, "We need to make sure that we continue to stay ahead of the curve. "

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