Voting Rights Groups Ask DeSantis To Expand Voting Changes to 26 Counties
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Wednesday, Oct. 19, Florida voting rights groups sent a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Secretary of State Cord Byrd (R) asking them to expand hurricane-related voting accommodations to more Florida counties. Last week, on Oct. 12, DeSantis issued an executive order waiving parts of Florida’s election laws in Republican-leaning Charlotte, Lee and Sarasota counties. The order extends early voting until Election Day, allows counties to designate additional early voting locations and lets voters change the address to receive their mail-in ballots. In the letter, the organizations ask the governor to expand the order to cover all 26 counties currently under a FEMA disaster declaration.
The letter —sent by the League of Women Voters of Florida, All Voting is Local, ACLU of Florida, Latino Justice, Legal Defense Fund and Southern Poverty Law Center — argues that “additional voting accommodations are desperately needed across the state due to the domino effect of displacement.” The groups also note the disparate impact of the disaster on minority communities. Accordingly, they urge DeSantis’ administration to expand the order to all affected counties and to add more days and hours of early voting statewide.