Vote by mail in Florida: SB 1752 would add new restrictions for ballots if approved
FORT LAUDERDALE -- South Florida voters have traditional opted for no excuse "vote by mail" as an option for recent elections.
In the 2022 midterms, 468,229 Miami-Dade and Broward voters cast a mail-in ballot while in the 2020 presidential election, it was 987,100.
But that form of voting could change under the terms of a new proposal that has been introducted.
"I think it's one of our biggest attacks on our voting rights that we've seen and we've seen quite a few," said Joe Scott, the Broward supervisor of elections who is opposed to the plan that was filed by Republican State Sen. Blaise Ingoglia on Friday in Tallahassee as SB 1752.
The proposal calls for allowing vote by mail only for those who can't vote on Election Day or during early voting.
The voter would have to swear they would be absent from the county or claim illness, disability or that they're a caregiver in order to select that method of casting a ballot.
It would also mean the voter would have to make a separate request for each election.
"This bill is going to make it very difficult for people to vote by mail," Scott said. "You basically have to have an excuse for why you can't show up in person."
NSU professor Charles Zelden, a voting and election expert, said: "This is a solution in search of a problem."
He sees politics at play.
"It does have partisan impact in the sense that right now Democrats are benefiting more form mail-in voting than Republicans are," Zelden said. "Fifteen years ago (or) 10 years ago, it was Republicans who benefited from it."
Zelden said if this passes, there will be consequences for the state's electorate.
"I think we're going to see less people voting," Zelden said. "We are going to see more problems with votes and we are going to see a mess."
CBS News Miami reached out to bill sponsor Ingoglia but with the state session beginning Tuesday, he was not available for comment.
No one from the Republican Party of Florida was immediately available for comment.
Miami-Dade's Supervisor of Elections is reviewing the proposal. To see the whole bill click here.
