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Florida lawmakers considering several options to prevent election problems in 2020

By Steven Ponson
Mail-in ballot

A Republican observer looks at a ballot during a hand recount, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, at the Broward County Supervisor of Elections office in Lauderhill, Fla. Florida's acrimonious U.S. Senate contest is headed to a legally required hand recount after an initial review by ballot-counting machines showed Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson separated by fewer than 13,000 votes. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Democratic party observer Rachel May Zysk, right, looks on a volunteers check under and over votes during an elections manual recount for three undecided races Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Tampa, Fla. Florida's bitter U.S. Senate contest is headed to a legally required hand recount after an initial review by ballot-counting machines showed Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson separated by less than 13,000 votes. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Elections officials with observers watching over their shoulders do a hand recount of questionable mail in ballots Friday, Nov. 16, 2018 in Jacksonville, Fla. (Bob Self/The Florida Times-Union via AP)

Canvassing Board chair Judge Betsy Benson, left, and board member Judge Deborah Carpenter-Toye, examine ballots with over or under votes after a hand recount, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, Broward County Supervisor of Elections office in Lauderhill, Fla. Under state law, a hand review is required when the victory margin is 0.25 percentage points or less. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Supervisor of Elections employees put the first batch of mail in ballots into the counting machine to sort them by contested race as the Duval County Supervisor of Elections office began the hand recount of the Florida Senate and Agriculture Commissioner's race at their Imeson Park facility in Jacksonville, Fla., Friday, Nov. 16, 2018. (Bob Self/The Florida Times-Union via AP)

Elections officials with observers watching over their shoulders do a hand recount of questionable mail in ballots Friday. The Duval County Supervisor of Elections office began the hand recount of the Florida Senate and Agriculture Commissioner's race at their Imeson Park facility in Jacksonville, Florida Friday morning, November 16, 2018. [Bob Self/Florida Times-Union via AP]/The Florida Times-Union via AP)

Broward County staff member Daphnee Sainvil places a ballot back in an envelope after it was examined by members of the canvassing board at the Broward County Supervisor of Elections after a hand recount, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Lauderhill, Fla. A hand recount began Friday in Florida's acrimonious U.S. Senate contest after an initial review by ballot-counting machines showed Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson separated by fewer than 13,000 votes. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

A worker at the Broward County Supervisor of Elections office signals for help during a hand recount, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Lauderhill, Fla. A hand recount began Friday in Florida's acrimonious U.S. Senate contest after an initial review by ballot-counting machines showed Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson separated by fewer than 13,000 votes. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Supervisor of Elections employees put the first batch of mail in ballots into the counting machine to sort them by contested race as the Duval County Supervisor of Elections office began the hand recount of the Florida Senate and Agriculture Commissioner's race at their Imeson Park facility in Jacksonville, Fla., Friday, Nov. 16, 2018. (Bob Self /The Florida Times-Union via AP)

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
By Steven Ponson

To prevent from having election problems like the ones from the 2018 Midterm Elections, Florida lawmakers are considering several options in the legislature ahead of the 2020 General Election. One of the bills recently filed getting a lot of attention in the State House is HB7101 which, if it passes, would allow more time for Supervisor of Elections offices to get mail-in ballots out to voters among other things. Clay County Supervisor of Elections Chris Chambless says that ultimately will help elections officials fix potential problems quicker.

“This will give additional opportunity to get that ballot in everyone’s hands and more time for it to get back to our office and be counted.” Chambless says.

He says this bill would benefit all voters, but it could have the biggest impact for rural citizens.

According to the Florida Department of State, more than 3.4 million mail-in ballots were requested in 2018 and nearly 850,00 were not returned. More than 6,600 ballots mailed ahead of Election Day in 65 of the 67 counties were not counted because they were not received in time.

Chambless says the bill would allow Supervisor of Elections Offices to start canvassing ballots earlier than current law. The bill would also include more training for officials to verify signatures.

“More and more voters are embracing not only voting by mail, but also voting early and specifically if the majority of population is now trending towards voting other than on election day, this is going to help them.” Chambless says.

If the bill passes, it would go into effect July 1st.

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