Florida: US governor signs controversial electoral reform

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Ron DeSantis after signing controversial electoral reform in West Palm Beach

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Joe Cavaretta / dpa

After a number of other US states, Florida has passed an electoral reform that critics say will make voting more difficult. However, it is not only the new electoral law that is controversial - the circumstances also caused a stir. While the law was being signed, the Republican Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, was live on Thursday in Palm Beach on the conservative broadcaster Fox News, which had been granted exclusive broadcasting rights in advance. Other channels have been locked out.

The Washington Post media journalist Erik Wemple spoke of a “propaganda session” for DeSantis.

The signing is actually a public act, Fox News reports Republican-friendly.

Sun Sentinel newspaper columnist Steve Bousquet wrote on Twitter that a DeSantis spokeswoman said the signing was "Fox Exclusive."

Democrats criticize law as "party-politically motivated"

The two Republican-dominated Houses of Parliament in the southern state of Florida, which former US President Donald Trump calls home, approved the electoral reform last week.

In the future, for example, stricter rules relating to postal votes will apply, which the then President Trump had criticized as prone to fraud without any evidence and which tend to be used primarily by Democratic voters.

In Florida, voters now have to actively apply for postal ballot papers - which, according to critics, should primarily benefit the Republicans.

The law also limits the setting up of ballot boxes outdoors and sets new requirements for the identification of voters.

DeSantis, who is considered a potential presidential candidate in the 2024 elections, said on Thursday that the reform would prevent the "mass sending of ballots".

Florida took measures to increase transparency in the electoral process and to strengthen the security of the elections.

Linda Stewart, who sits for the Florida Senate for the Democrats, criticized the electoral law for being politically motivated. Several organizations such as Black Voters Matter filed lawsuits against the law. It has deliberate and disproportionate effects on older voters, voters with disabilities, students and ethnic minorities, said Patricia Brigham, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida. "It's undemocratic, unconstitutional, and un-American."