Floridas county election supervisors have asked for changes to voting rules after two hurricanes hit the state. They sent a letter to Cord Byrd (the Secretary of State) on 10/15/24‚ saying that Helene and Milton wrecked polling places and left some voters‚ workers and staff without homes.
The storms hit the Gulf Coast hard‚ causing big problems. David Ramba‚ who leads the supervisors group asked for 10 changes. These include:
- More time to set up early voting and drop boxes
- Easier ways to ask for mail-in ballots
- Less training for some poll workers
The governor can change voting rules after big storms happen.
Florida expects many voters this time. People will vote for president‚ Senate and on two big issues: making marijuana legal and getting rid of the new law that stops abortions after six weeks.
Early voting starts on 10/21/24 in some places. Most mail-in ballots are already sent out. The last day to ask for a mail-in ballot is next week.
Ryan Cox‚ who works with Ramba‚ thinks election bosses can get polls open if they have some wiggle room. Florida used to be known for messing up elections (remember the 2000 vote count?) But the last two big votes in 2020 and 2022 went smooth.
The letter talks about counties near Tampa Bay that got hit hard: Sarasota‚ Manatee‚ Pinellas and Pasco. Many voting places there are broken or flooded.
After Helene‚ Ron DeSantis said counties could change some rules. But he didnt give more time to sign up to vote when they asked.
Amy Keith‚ who works to help people vote‚ is worried. She thinks voting will be hard for people still fixing their homes after the storms