From then until now, a lot of water has flowed in the world of politics and in the electoral circle. Countless voices called for government and legislative action to stop these types of anomalous situations.
But now let’s get to know the story of Lourdes, a Cuban-American who always talks about politics, how bad the economy is, the need to have a government that can lower inflation, and her dream—like that of many—of buying a house. before reaching old age.
Laughing, friendly, with a bombastic voice, this employee of a popular casino in southwest Miami-Dade exercises her right to vote since she became an American citizen, but—she claims—she cannot go to a polling station for several reasons.
According to him, first, he has to take care of his sick mother, who needs constant attention. Second, she was afraid of catching COVID and now the influenza virus, which had a serious resurgence in recent weeks. Third, he does not have a vehicle or public transportation nearby, and his assigned voting precinct is at least eight blocks away.
For this reason, Lourdes participates in the elections through a absentee ballot, which allows you to vote from the comfort of your home, without risking your health or that of your mother. For her, voting by mail is a safe, easy and convenient option, giving her the opportunity to participate in democracy without sacrificing her well-being.
But this could change. A senator from Florida introduced SB 1752, which aims to implement substantial reforms to the state’s vote-by-mail system.
Among the key provisions of the legislative initiative are clear criteria for the eligibility of ‘absentee voters’, detailed procedures for requesting and canceling mail-in votes, as well as measures to prevent electoral fraud.
Essence of the proposal
The bill establishes strict criteria for a ‘qualified absentee voter’ to vote by mail, including situations of absence from the county of residence, illness or physical disability, residence in a US Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility or confinement in the jail.
Additionally, the proposal details a series of procedures to request a vote by mailproviding for the submission of a separate application for each election, unless otherwise indicated when making the application.
Likewise, measures are established to cancel an absentee ballot request if the correspondence sent by the electoral supervisor is returned as undeliverable.
The bill also includes a certificate that the voter must sign to confirm your eligibility and commitment not to vote more than once in the corresponding election, as well as the legal consequences of committing fraud in relation to the vote.
It also warns about the seriousness of accepting gifts in exchange for votes or voting with a false identity, among other fraudulent circumstances.
The purpose of the bill SB 1752, authored by Republican Senator Blaise Ingoglia, is to “strengthen the integrity of the vote-by-mail system in Florida, guaranteeing transparency and fairness in the state’s electoral process.”
Questions
Voting by mail was used by 44% or 4.6 million Floridians in the 2020 general election, and by more than 1.1 million voters in the 2022 election.
Some Democratic leaders and civil organizations have charged that the law being debated in the state Legislature would be a form of “voter suppression,” especially of minorities, young people, the elderly and people with disabilities, who are more likely to vote. use vote by mail.
In his opinion, “several years ago we have seen that, not only in the state of Florida, but nationwide, young people have chosen to vote by mail, what we know in South Florida as ‘absentee ballot’.
“Young people live in a digital world and anything that involves physically going somewhere makes them lazy, especially when it comes to voting. And we see that young people are voting Democratic and, to stop this trend in the state of Florida, this bill is being promoted.”
Tirador warned that the budding measure could even be a “double-edged sword for Republicans.”
In this regard, the political issues specialist said that “the Legislature has a very big problem because in South Florida the majority of absentee ballots are from people registered in the Republican Party and of advanced age, who tend to vote for representatives.” states that are Republican.”
He anticipated that “the state representatives of South Florida are not going to be very in agreement with this because, although at the state level it suits the Republican Party, it would not suit the same party in South Florida, and mainly in Miami.” Dade.”
“Original mission”
From another perspective, in the opinion of Frank Rodríguez, a Republican political analyst, during the COVID pandemic some politicians “took advantage of voting by mail to harvest votes from people who were not registered citizens.
Therefore, he said, “voting by mail should be an exception and not a rule, since it should only be used in cases of illness or absence.”
In accordance with its premises, “the right to vote must be guaranteed for all citizens, and the best way to measure popular will is on election day, with people voting in person or during the early period.”
“The ticket takers”
The bill being processed in Tallahassee brings to the fore scandals from more than a decade ago, and later years, when private investigator Joe Carrillo brought to light the case of people who were dedicated to collecting votes by mail, mainly of elders, to supposedly favor some candidates.
“The ticket holders,” a man and a woman, who were later joined by another woman accused of that action, were supposedly dedicated to collecting absentee votes. already marked and signed by voters, and delivered them to political campaigns that allegedly paid them for their services. Some candidates were mentioned at the time.
Likewise, in 2014, a Hialeah woman was arrested for violating a county ordinance that prohibits having more than two absentee ballots.
In another case, in 2016, authorities received information about an employee of a senior citizen building in Miami who apparently collected ‘absentee ballots’ to deliver to a political campaign. The investigation did not prosper judicially.
(email protected)
@danielcastrope
