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Defending Democracy: Florida’s Ambitious Election Integrity Legislation 

February 28, 2025
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In response to a citizen-led security risk assessment of Florida’s election process, state lawmakers have proposed a series of bills to strengthen election integrity and prevent fraud.  The assessment, conducted by experts from across the state, has identified over 200 risks and prioritized five legislative initiatives to address the most likely threats with the highest potential to compromise election outcomes. 

In light of the recent findings that 500,000 ballots in the most recent elections fell into categories of questionable provenance, it is crucial for Secretary of State Cord Byrd, the Florida Supervisor of Elections (FSE) https://www.myfloridaelections.com/, and Governor Ron DeSantis to prioritize the proposed election integrity bills.  These legislative measures aim to address the identified vulnerabilities and strengthen the state’s electoral process. 

Rather than focusing on harassing poll watchers, who are citizen volunteers and patriots dedicating their time to ensure fair and transparent elections, Florida’s leaders should concentrate on implementing the necessary safeguards to protect the integrity of future elections.  By supporting and actively working towards the passage of these comprehensive bills, Secretary Byrd, the FSE, and Governor DeSantis can demonstrate their commitment to secure elections and uphold the democratic process in the state of Florida. 

The proposed bills focus on several key areas, including: 

Strengthening and enforcing chain of custody and physical security statewide standards 

Increasing voter roll accuracy and enhancing signature verification 

Strengthening vote-by-mail process transparency 

Expanding the technology certification program to cover all systems used in elections and making certification more robust 

Enhancing governance with state monitoring and procedural audits of elections, as well as expanding the canvassing board or reducing the workload through qualified vote-by-mail 

One of the top priorities is to address the lack of uniformity in ballot chain of custody and physical security procedures across Florida counties.  The assessment found that eight out of ten large counties had major gaps in their processes, potentially resulting in tens of thousands of ballots being inserted or deleted without detection.  SB 369 proposes controls to strengthen vote-by-mail ballot chain of custody and physical security to mitigate these risks. 

Another significant concern is the accuracy of voter rolls and the potential for deceased individuals, out-of-state movers, and non-citizens to be registered to vote.  SB 1602 aims to enable timely detection and removal of ineligible voters by leveraging DMV and other state databases while also putting controls in place to prevent non-citizen and fictitious voter registration. 

The bills also seek to enhance the vote-by-mail process’s transparency, which varies significantly by county.  SB 369 addresses this issue by requiring rules to ensure uniform vote-by-mail transparency and reporting across counties. 

To address technology-related risks, SB 364 proposes controls to expand and strengthen the certification program for all election systems used in Florida.  The bill also emphasizes establishing an election technology advisory board to guide Florida election technology policies. 

Finally, the proposed enhanced governance bill (House draft# 94145 and Senate draft# 01635) aims to create daily reconciliation, procedural audit, and public observation controls to prevent, detect, and correct operational or technology failures before they impact election outcomes.  These measures are designed to increase election accuracy and voter trust. 

As Florida lawmakers consider these comprehensive election integrity bills, they must balance the benefits of enhanced security and transparency with potential costs and efficiency concerns.  The proposed legislation has garnered support from election integrity advocates who argue that these measures are necessary to ensure the security and accuracy of Florida’s election systems.  As Florida’s legislative session approaches, citizens are encouraged to contact their Florida House and Senate representatives to voice their support for this series of comprehensive election integrity bills.  These bills, proposed in response to a citizen-led security risk assessment of the state’s election process, aim to address identified vulnerabilities and enhance transparency in the electoral system.  By contacting their Florida House and Senate members, citizens can play a vital role in strengthening the state’s election processes and maintaining the integrity of future elections.  Supporters of these bills believe the proposed measures will help prevent fraud, increase transparency, and ultimately enhance voter trust in the electoral system. 

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Douglass Ross

Douglas J. Ross is originally from Wisconsin and is a long-time resident of Miami, Florida. He is a veteran Navy pilot from the Cold War period, having graduated from the US Naval Academy. After retiring as an international airline Captain, he now works as an Investment Advisor and also volunteers with Patriotic groups like the Convention of States and the Association of Mature American Citizens. In his free time, he enjoys writing.
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