A Senate Committee bill introduced Monday would prohibit absentee ballots from being dropped off anywhere other than election supervisors’ offices or polling locations. The bill would also allow voters to register online—but the measure remains controversial and could still change before it gets to the floor.
Absentee ballots are accepted at secure drop-off locations in a handful of Florida’s 67 counties—including Pinellas, the same county Ethics and Elections Committee Chairman Jack Latvala represents. Latvala says for years he’s told Pinellas County Election Supervisor Deb Clarke he’s concerned about the high percentage of early, absentee votes cast there.
“I mean, I’m waiting on the day that somebody gets indicted on the Thursday before the election and they get elected because everybody’s already voted and they can’t get their ballot back. And that’s going to happen," he says.
Clarke said in an interview Monday that in Tuesday’s special election to fill the seat of late Congressman Bill Young, 39 percent of absentee ballots had been submitted through drop-off locations in places like libraries.
Election supervisors also told senators Monday they believe absentee-ballot issues can be solved through the Secretary of State’s rulemaking powers and don’t require a legislative fix.