Free and fair elections are guaranteed to all Americans in the U.S. Constitution.
But trust is hard to earn, and easy to break. Since 2022, trust in elections has steadily declined. That's partly because the Trump administration has repeatedly cast doubt on the 2020 election as part of a "broader effort to undermine future elections," according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
In a July survey of more than 3,500 adults, the Pew Research Center found just more than half of Americans are confident the midterm elections will be conducted "fairly and accurately."
For Democrats, 58% express confidence in the upcoming election. That's slightly more than Republicans at 55%.
That's why each Florida county has a canvassing board to ensure election integrity. They are part of the Elections Canvassing Commission, an agency created in 1895 to make sure elections are free and fair.
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All 67 counties have a canvassing board made up of three members: the elections supervisor, a county court judge, and the county commission chairperson. Alternates, or substitutes, are allowed if one of the members is on the ballot or cannot attend a meeting.
A majority of the board must be present to approve and order the opening of vote-by-mail ballots, decide whether to count or reject them, and if a ballot's signature doesn't match what is on record, determine if it will be counted.
Florida law requires the boards to handle many election-related activities before and after an election, including the public logic and accuracy test, in which members certify the voting machines work properly.
Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer is on the board and said the accuracy test is an important component of building trust.
"That's why we do it in the public," he said. "This is exactly why you can trust this process."
Latimer called the accuracy test an "observable event." He said offices provide transparency throughout the election — from counting ballots to reporting results.
"I've heard all kinds of rumors about flooding vote-by-mail ballots in and stuff. It doesn't happen," he said. "Number one, you have to be a registered voter. You have to request a ballot. You also have to sign the oath on the back of that envelope, and every single one of those signatures is physically looked at by our staff who have gone through state-certified training to be able to match those signatures."
And illegally registering to vote and signing that oath is a third-degree felony.
Earlier this year, the state passed its own version of the SAVE Act, which would dramatically change how people register to vote.
The deadline to register to vote in November's election has already passed in Florida.
The Southern Poverty Law Center and Democracy Defenders Fund are challenging it in court. But if the SAVE Act takes effect, it wouldn't happen until January — after the midterms. It would require first-time voters and people who need to update or change their registration to prove their citizenship.
It would also require Florida officials to remove people they believe are ineligible from the voter rolls.
If you have any questions about state government or the legislative process, you can ask the Your Florida team by clicking here.
This story was produced by WUSF as part of a statewide journalism initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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