A new law aimed at paperwork reduction will allow Florida election supervisors to register voters electronically. Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed the law but vetoed an exemption that would have taken those voters’ email addresses out of public record.
President of the open-government group Florida First Amendment Foundation, Barbara Peterson, applauds the veto.
“The exemption just didn’t make sense to me," she said.
She said, voters’ physical addresses are already part of public record. So without e-mail addresses, candidates and local citizens' groups would have to send campaign materials through mail, lessening the effects of the paper-reduction act.
“As the governor pointed out in his veto letter, e-mail is the most efficient and cost-effective method of communicating, " Peterson said.
All but two state lawmakers had approved the exemption. In debate, some worried voters might get spammed.
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