Can I vote by mail? What to know about possible election changes
Heading to the ballot box — or casting your ballot by mail — may be different in 2024.
READ MORE: Legislature considers additional election changes affecting mail voting, ID cards, more
Florida lawmakers have listed dozens of possible changes to state election laws in a 98-page bill released Monday and heard in a Senate committee on Tuesday. SPB 7050 is the fourth significant legislation governing the state’s election laws in the last five years.
Here’s what you need to know about the proposed changes and its impacts on:
Voters
The bill adds a disclaimer to voter ID cards that says: “This card is proof of registration but is not legal verification of the eligibility to vote”;
▪ Bars first-time voters from voting by mail if they weren’t issued a Social Security number and don’t have a Florida-issued driver’s license or ID;
▪ Allows prosecution in any county for casting more than one ballot, a third-degree felony.
Candidates
▪ The bill reduces reporting of political contributions from every month to every quarter.
Voter registration groups
▪ The bill requires groups give a receipt to each person they register;
▪ Turn in completed applications within 10 days instead of 14;
▪ Pay $5,000 instead of $100 for every application submitted late.
It also increases the total fines an organization could face from $50,000 to $100,000;
▪ Subjects members to a third-degree felony and up to five years in jail if they retain sensitive information, such as a voter’s Social Security number.
This story was originally published April 5, 2023 at 3:49 PM.
