Florida elections officials asked DeSantis for coronavirus help. They’re still waiting.
Alarmed by the coronavirus pandemic, Florida’s election supervisors asked Gov. Ron DeSantis more than 10 weeks ago to grant them special flexibility under state law “as soon as possible” in case poll workers refuse to show up or landlords decline to open polling places.
He didn’t respond.
With the Aug. 18 primary looming, elections officials say they’ve yet to hear from DeSantis on whether he’ll issue an emergency executive order extending early voting and allowing for the consolidation of polling places, among other changes. Instead, as new coronavirus cases increase to record levels across the state, supervisors say they’re preparing for the start of voting with limited ability to respond to another outbreak.
“It’s undeniable that the inaction is severely limiting our planning for the upcoming elections,” said Brian Corley, elections supervisor in Pasco County, a Gulf Coast county of about 375,000 voters. “We are doing everything in our power to make it work but not having the latitude to be innovative with the goal of providing access and safe voting for all voters is something that currently keeps me up at night.”
The Florida Division of Elections is expected to lock in ballots Friday, setting off a two-week period during which supervisors will rush dozens of ballot designs to printers and prepare to send them out in the mail, starting July 3 with overseas addresses. Early voting is currently set to begin exactly one month later, as early as Aug. 3.
DeSantis’ office did not respond to a request for comment.
Supervisors first asked Florida’s Republican governor for help on April 7, when then-association President Tammy Jones sent DeSantis a letter warning that the staffing shortages that complicated the March 17 presidential primary — which DeSantis refused to postpone amid the early days of the pandemic — could pose even greater problems for the upcoming August primary and November general election.
In the letter, Jones, the supervisor of Levy County, urged DeSantis to act “as soon as possible” by granting every supervisor in the state the same emergency-time leeway he’d given Gulf and Bay counties in 2018 following Category 5 Hurricane Michael. Her request included the ability to work outside of Florida law to open regional Election Day voting centers, additional early voting days and extra time to process mail ballots, which are anticipated to rise in popularity this year due to social distancing recommendations.
When DeSantis didn’t respond by May 13, Jones’ newly installed successor as president, Hillsborough Supervisor Craig Latimer, wrote the governor again, warning that the association’s request “cannot wait any longer.” Latimer told the Miami Herald in an interview that he spoke that same day to a DeSantis aide about the urgency of the request. But he says he hasn’t heard anything from DeSantis’ office since, despite two calls seeking additional information, and has been unable to glean any useful information from Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee.
“I’m stunned that other than one phone call from a representative in the governor’s office, there’s been absolutely no conversation between myself and the secretary [of state], or myself and the governor’s office,” said Latimer. “Time is of the essence. No doubt about that. We’re telling voters to get election-ready now. You’d think we wouldn’t have to tell the governor that.”
Some help is already on the way. The state last month requested more than $20 million in federal coronavirus aid set aside for Florida’s elections. The request followed Latimer’s May 13 letter, which also warned that the state was hurting supervisors’ ability to purchase safety and sanitary supplies by dragging its feet on an official request for the money to the federal government.
On Tuesday, supervisors learned how much money they’re getting.
But they’ve yet to receive any response on their requested executive order, which some supervisors worry could leave them unnecessarily hamstrung if coronavirus continues to be a problem and affects voting. Latimer, for instance, remains concerned about Election Day staffing and polling places.
“I have a standing Tuesday staff meeting from 9 to 10. During the staff meeting yesterday, three polling sites dropped out,” he said during a Wednesday interview.
The majority of supervisors’ concerns remain focused on the November presidential election, which should draw millions more voters around Florida than the primary and the local contests on the ballot in August. The urgency to change policies ahead of the primary also reflected a desire from supervisors to ensure that any changes to voting in November would be in place in the summer to provide some continuity and avoid voter confusion during the presidential election.
In all likelihood, lines and crowded polling places will be uncommon in August since most jurisdictions will see between 20% and 25% turnout. Chris Anderson, supervisor of elections in Central Florida’s Seminole County, said all his poll workers have agreed to return to work for the August election and all 80 polling locations have agreed to reopen.
“We’re doing pretty good,” he said, rapping on his desk with his knuckles for luck. “All our precincts are staffed.”
In South Florida, home to roughly a quarter of Florida voters, election officials also say they expect to be able to staff the August elections with minimal disruptions.
Broward County Supervisor Pete Antonacci, who announced in March after the presidential primary that two poll workers had tested positive for coronavirus, is “well-prepared for August,” according to spokesman Steve Vancore. Wendy Sartory Link, supervisor in Palm Beach County, said “all is well.” And Miami-Dade Supervisor Christina White told the Miami Herald that while about 30 landlords have backed out of their roles as polling places, she expects to have a specific site for each of Miami-Dade’s roughly 875 precincts.
She said there will be some changes. Miami-Dade commissioners, for instance, voted Tuesday to have White’s office set up drive-by safe boxes outside early voting centers for mail voters who’d prefer to drop off their ballots in person without going into the building. But otherwise she’s preparing for a “typical election” because even if DeSantis were to issue the requested order now, it wouldn’t give her enough time to change plans.
“It’s too late at this point,” she said.
This story was originally published June 17, 2020 at 6:53 PM.
