Florida set to become next swing state to pass new restrictive voting law

Tallahassee, Florida – The first big battleground state won by Donald Trump is poised to pass new restrictive voting measures.

The Florida state legislature voted largely along party lines to pass new restrictive voting measures.
The Florida state legislature voted largely along party lines to pass new restrictive voting measures.  © IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

Florida is following on the heels of Georgia, which passed its restrictive voting law in March. Other Republican-controlled states like Texas and Arizona are pursuing similar legislation.

According to the New York Times, the Florida bill passed mostly along party lines in both chambers.

The new measures include reducing drop-box use, increasing ID requirements for absentee ballots, making it mandatory for voters to request their absentee ballots for each election, restricting who can collect and drop off ballots, and expanding the authority of partisan observers during counting.

Republicans pursued these changes even though they don't have any evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 elections. Many observers, the ACLU included, have repeatedly pointed out the measures would disproportionately impact people of color.

When asked to identify the voter fraud that necessitated the new bill, Republican state rep. Blaise Ingolia replied, "I don’t know, but I’m sure it was going on. Just the fact that they weren’t caught doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s not happening."

A Democratic representative countered, "Members, I’ve got no evidence for you on the chupacabra, and I got no evidence for you about ballot harvesting. But what I can tell you is this: that our system worked well in 2020, by all accounts, and everyone agreed. And that for so many reasons, we don’t need this bad bill."

Republican Governor Ron DeSantis previously expressed his support for the changes and is expected to sign the bill into law.

Cover photo: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire

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