Florida governor, in a made-for-Fox-News event, signs bill that enacts tighter voting laws
Updated May 06, 2021;
Posted May 06, 2021
Surrounded by lawmakers, Florida Gov.Ron DeSantis speaks at the end of a legislative session, Friday, April 30, 2021, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)AP
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a wide-ranging list of new voting restrictions into law Thursday, staging a misleading, made-for-TV ceremony meant to tout his credentials on a top priority for the Republican Party’s conservative base.
At a live bill-signing event aired exclusively on Fox News, DeSantis said the new law would prevent fraud and restore confidence in Florida’s elections although the state has found no evidence of widespread fraud. The move made Florida the latest GOP-led state to enact tighter voting rules over the objections of Democratic critics who charge the law only makes it harder for people, particularly th
They claim their effort to increase “election integrity” and weed out the rare instances of voter fraud.
“This is a modification, not a major overhaul of elections in Florida. But the concern is it’s going in the wrong direction,” Sean Foreman, political science professor at Barry University, said.
Foreman says Governor DeSantis and Republicans see this as a proactive measure because there were no major issues running the 2020 election in Florida. Since the bill creates additional steps and regulations to vote, it will likely have an impact on turnout.
“All of this is about expanding or contracting the eligible voter pool moving forward. And that’s why the stakes are so high,” Foreman said.
May 7, 2021
Surrounded by lawmakers, Florida Gov.Ron DeSantis speaks at the end of a legislative session, Friday, April 30, 2021, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a major rewrite of Florida’s elections law on Thursday, tightening rules around drop boxes and mail-in voting in the presidential battleground. Critics say the changes will make it harder for voters, particularly the elderly and people of color, to cast ballots.
It’s the latest victory in the nationwide push by Republicans to restrict access to the polls, which party leaders say is necessary to deter fraud. Florida’s Republican legislators passed this law without a single Democratic vote even though they acknowledged there were no signs of fraud in the state, which former President Donald Trump won handily in November.
Florida Voting Integrity Bill Immediately Faces Lawsuits After Becoming Law
A Florida bill that seeks to protect the integrity of elections has been hit with legal challenges immediately after it became law.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday signed into law the Republican-backed Senate Bill 90 that adds safeguards to the way people vote using ballot drop boxes and mail-in ballots. The bill has been heavily opposed by civil rights activists and Democrats, who argue that the measure disproportionately burdens African American and Latino voters’ right to vote, which they say amounts to voter suppression.
Shortly after the law was enacted, several voting rights groups filed two separate lawsuits seeking to block the enforcement of the law and declare that the measure violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law.