A Florida Senate Republican has introduced legislation that could significantly change mail-in voting. Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a Spring Hill Republican and former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, filed the bill (SB 1752) for consideration during the legislative session, which begins Tuesday.
In part, it would limit who can vote by mail. While mail-in voting is now widely available, the bill would limit it to certain groups, including people who would be absent from their home counties, people with illnesses or disabilities that prevent them from going to polling places, and members of the military stationed overseas.
Also, it would require that vote-by-mail ballots be requested for each election and would limit where the ballots can be dropped off to elections supervisors’ main and branch offices. Voters can currently return the ballots to early voting sites.
Read: Former South Carolina Gov. Haley Accuses Florida Gov Of Lying, But DeSantis Brings Receipts
Political and legal battles about voting by mail have repeatedly flared in recent years, after the method was heavily used during the 2020 elections — particularly by Democrats.
“Democrats are proficient and good at vote by mail, so they (Republicans) look to see where our strengths are and try to attack them from a legislative perspective and use their power in the Legislature as an instrument,” Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-Sunny Isles Beach, said Monday when asked about the bill, which was filed Friday.
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