Tampa Bay’s vote-by-mail requests plunge as 2024 election nears
Tampa Bay is facing a steep drop in vote-by-mail requests ahead of the presidential election, the result of changes in state law that Gov. Ron DeSantis said would make the voter rolls more secure. Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties have far fewer mail ballot requests on file for general election ballots this year than they did in the 2022 midterms. So far, fewer than 42,000 Pasco voters ... Tampa Bay, Florida, is experiencing a significant decrease in vote-by-mail requests ahead of the 2024 presidential election due to changes in state law that Gov. Ron DeSantis claims will make voter rolls more secure. Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties have far fewer mail ballot requests on file for general election ballots this year than they did in the 2022 midterms. So far, fewer than 42,000 Pasco voters have requested mail-in ballots for the general election, compared to more than 124,400 requests two years ago. The drop-off in requests could result in lower turnout from marginalized groups and low-propensity voters, according to Abdelilah Skhir, senior strategist at the ACLU of Florida. The bill, SB 90, also restricted the use of ballot drop boxes and added requirements for voters to change their registration or request a mail ballot.
发表 : 10 个月前 经过 Nina Moske, Tampa Bay Times 在 Politics
Tampa Bay is facing a steep drop in vote-by-mail requests ahead of the presidential election, the result of changes in state law that Gov. Ron DeSantis said would make the voter rolls more secure.
Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties have far fewer mail ballot requests on file for general election ballots this year than they did in the 2022 midterms.
So far, fewer than 42,000 Pasco voters have requested mail-in ballots for the general election. Compare that with more than 124,400 requests two years ago.
Hillsborough has less than 155,500 vote-by-mail requests for the general election on file, a dip compared with the more than 200,000 requests it fulfilled in the midterms.
And in Pinellas, the elections office has roughly 232,900 requests on file this year compared with more than 332,800 requests in 2022.
The drop-off in requests could mean lower turnout from marginalized groups and low-propensity voters this election, said Abdelilah Skhir, senior strategist at the ACLU of Florida.
Voters’ existing mail ballot requests were wiped from county systems after the 2022 election thanks to a state law that required them to re-request a mail-in ballot each general election cycle every two years.
The bill, SB 90, also restricted the use of ballot drop boxes and added requirements for voters looking to change their registration or request a mail-in ballot.
Skhir said that bill and other “anti-voter laws” make voting more difficult for elderly or low-income people or those with limited mobility.
“Groups of people who already have those extra barriers to voting are going to be hit the hardest,” he said.
Skhir worries that people won’t realize they need to re-request mail ballots before it’s too late. That may mean lower voter turnout this year.
“There’s going to be a nonzero number of people who are expecting their vote-by-mail ballot this year, and through whatever circumstances they’re in, they’re not going to receive that vote-by-mail ballot,” he said. “And any number greater than zero is too much.”
Registered voters can ask that a ballot be mailed to them up until 12 days before an election.
Vote-by-mail has historically been popular in Tampa Bay. In the 2022 general election, nearly half of Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas voters cast ballots by mail.
With primary elections in August, county elections officials say they are prioritizing outreach to voters whose requests expired in 2022.
In Pasco, Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley said his office sent tens of thousands of postcards to voters whose requests were erased after the 2022 election.
Dustin Chase, communications director for the Pinellas County elections office, said Pinellas has sent over 100,000 letters and emails reminding voters to re-request mail ballots. The office has taken to social media, radio, newspaper and billboards to spread the word, too.
“We’re just encouraging voters to exercise their franchise,” he said.
Republican lawmakers passed SB 90 amid a surge in voting by mail among Democrats and a steady drumbeat of unfounded fraud claims from former President Donald Trump about the 2020 presidential election, which he lost. Many of his complaints targeted vote-by-mail, though he has repeatedly voted by mail in Florida.
Republicans said SB 90 would maintain election integrity in Florida. Democrats accused them of voter suppression and of placating Trump’s claims.
But it appears that ahead of the 2024 election, Trump has embraced vote-by-mail.
The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee announced “Swamp The Vote USA” earlier this week, a platform promoting mail-in ballots and early voting.
“Republicans must win, and we must use every appropriate tool available to beat the Democrats,” Trump said in a video launching the effort. “Whether you vote early, absentee, by mail or in person, we are going to protect the vote.”
In response to Trump’s promotion of mail voting, Skhir of the ACLU said, “I hope that many of the elected officials who have attacked the vote-by-mail process throughout the last few years, both in rhetoric and in policy, see this as the time to cut it out.”
话题: 2024 Elections