Suzette Cook
Alachua County Supervisor of Elections (SOE) Kim Barton is encouraging voters to update their voter registrations to add required information after passage of Florida Senate Bill 90.
Republicans in the House and Senate passed the bill to “improve election security, transparency, and administration,” according to the bill summary. Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign it into law.Â
Some of the changes regarding vote-by-mail ballots include:
- Prohibits mailing or otherwise providing a ballot without a request
- Extends the period during which tabulation of ballots can occur
- Limits the use of drop boxes, other than at a supervisor’s office, to early voting hours
- Requires in-person monitoring of all drop boxes while accessible for deposit of ballots
- Limits a person’s lawful possession of ballots to his or her own, those of an immediate family member and two others in most cases.
According to Barton, registered voters requesting mail-in ballots need to visit the Florida online voter registration portal, at RegisterToVoteFlorida.gov, and supply both the last four digits of their Social Security number and a Florida driver license or state ID.
Voters can also submit the information via a paper Florida voter registration application. Those forms can be printed and filled out, then mailed to 515 N. Main St., Suite 300, Gainesville, FL 32601, or returned in person to any public library or the SOE office.
Barton reported that in the Alachua County 2020 general election, 190,451 registered voters were eligible to vote, 27,164 voted at the polls, 61,956 voted by mail (absentee) and 54,709 voted early. The voter turnout was 75.5 percent among a total of 143,820 voters.