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Florida passes controversial bill restricting access to voting

2021-05-03T11:28:32.494Z


"We are not here because we have a problem with our elections, but because the former president (Donald Trump) lost his reelection in November," criticized a Democratic lawmaker. Governor Ron DeSantis has already spoken in support of the new restrictions, which are similar. to those adopted in Georgia.


By Ben Kamisar - NBC News

Florida Republican lawmakers approved an election bill Thursday that includes new restrictions on voting booths and voting by mail, while Democrats and voting rights activists warn that the new limitations are a form of voter suppression. .

Both the House of Representatives and the state Senate approved the bill after weeks of negotiations between Republicans in both bodies.

The legislation is expected to be signed soon by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis

, who has already spoken out in support of efforts to enact new voting restrictions.

The bill passed the Senate by a 23-17 vote and the House by a 77-40 margin.

The new legislation introduces a series of changes to Florida's electoral laws.

[Georgia passes a law restricting access to voting.

It even prohibits bringing food and water to voters waiting in line]

Although a previous proposal strictly prohibited the use of voting machines, the legislation passed this Thursday allows their use as long as electoral officials follow these new restrictions: it will limit who can deposit a voter's ballot in a ballot box, it will be prohibited to move the ballot. Polling place locations for 30 days after an election,

the locations where the polls can be placed will be restricted and all locations will be 

required to be monitored by an election official whenever they are open.

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The bill also requires voters to request to vote by mail more regularly, prohibits election officials from using private funds to help pay for election administration, gives partisan election observers new powers, and

allows DeSantis new leeway.

to appoint replacement persons to fill certain vacant local political positions by persons running for higher office.

Democrats allege the new law is aimed at local officials seeking to run in a special election to replace the late Representative Alcee Hastings, a Florida Democrat, whose death left a vacancy in the Miami area, where Democrats abound.

State Senator Audrey Gibson, a Democrat from the same state, called the measure an "attempt to create a monarchy," by giving the governor more power.

Republicans softened words within the bill that would have prohibited giving any item to a voter within 150 feet of a polling place, including food and water, unless that person is an election official.

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The legislation now prohibits anyone from "engaging in any activity with the intent to influence or the effect of influencing a voter," but allows election monitors to provide "non-partisan assistance," such as providing items to voters within that zone. restricted.

During the controversial state lower house debate on Wednesday, Democrats criticized the bill

as it will restrict the vote of minorities and Democrats

, who relied heavily on voting by mail and the ballot box during elections. 2020 presidential election. They also said the legislation stems from former President Donald Trump's unsubstantiated claims that there was widespread voter fraud, and argued that Republicans were aiming to curb strong Democratic turnout in the vote-by-mail.

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"We are not here because we have a problem with our elections, we are here because the former Republican president lost his reelection in November and, instead of admitting his defeat, he wove a web of lies, radicalized those lies, in an attempt to explain that he lost" said Democratic State Representative Omari Hardy.

"This bill is the resurgence of the Jim Crow law in this state, whether its lobbyists admit it or not," Hardy said.

Democrats proposed a series of amendments aimed at easing some of the new restrictions, including removing identification requirements, expanding who can insert someone's ballot into a ballot box, and allowing them to be monitored by a camera in instead of a staff member.

All the Democratic amendments failed.

[Baseball League relocates All-Star Game in protest of controversial Georgia law restricting voting rights]

Republicans were infuriated by allegations that they were trying to restrict access to the vote, arguing that the state already offers strong avenues to vote and that the measures were intended to protect voters from potential fraud, even as they admitted that the elections 2020 ran smoothly in the state.

“I have no problem with the accusation that we are trying to restrict voting in some way.

There are more ways to vote in Florida and an opportunity more abundant than in any state in the nation, ”said Republican State Representative Ralph Massullo.

"Fraud will be reduced as much as possible with the work that we are doing today," he said.

The legislation is one of many being introduced into Republican-led legislatures across the country in the wake of Trump's lies about widespread voter fraud.

Democrats in the state repeatedly compared the measure to the bill that passed earlier this year in Georgia, prompting significant pushback from outside groups that prompted a handful of prominent companies to condemn the legislation or withdraw their operations. state business.

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But unlike Georgia, Florida's top companies have been largely silent on the issue despite the insistence of voting rights activists.

These lobbyists criticized the bill's passage in a series of statements shortly after the state Lower House vote.

"SB 90 is a flagrant violation of Floridians' freedom to vote and represents a direct reaction to last year's record turnout," said Brad Ashwell, director of the Florida chapter of All Voting is Local.

"By erecting onerous barriers to requesting and returning a mail-in ballot, legislators (Republicans)

have made voting a test of resilience and resources rather than a statement of civic responsibility."

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2021-05-03

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