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Florida Gov. DeSantis Signs Gop-Backed Election Bill Limiting Mail-In Voting, Drop Boxes Surrounded by lawmakers, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at the end of a legislative session, at the Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla., on April 30, 2021, (Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 6 signed a Republican-backed election integrity law that places restrictions on ballot drop boxes and mail-in ballots.
When signing the bill, the Republican governor said it would place Florida ahead of other states in preventing any potential voter fraud.
“Right now I have what we think is the strongest election integrity measures in the country,” he said. “We’re also banning ballot harvesting. We’re not going to let political operatives go and get satchels of votes and dump them in some dropbox.”
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law on Thursday imposing new restrictions on voting, such as making it harder to vote by mail and criminalizing the handing out of food and water to people in voting lines.
The governor made the signing of the bill, which would affect millions of voters in his state, a â
Sun-Sentinel columnist Steve Bousquet, allowing only the conservative media outlet to show the signing. DeSantis claimed in an interview with âFox & Friendsâ that the bill was about âintegrity and transparencyâ even though voting rights advocates have decried the measures that make it harder to vote, especially for nonwhite voters.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Thursday on increasing election integrity
The Republican governor touted it will help increase trust in the election process and prevent future fraud
The provisions include making ballot drop-boxes available to all Floridians, but restricting it to being open during voting hours with an election worker present
It also will crack down on those receiving mail-in ballots and further enforce voter ID laws – like was imposed in Georgia earlier this year
A voting rights group already filed a lawsuit claiming it is voter suppression