DeSantis signs election changes into law

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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Gov. Ron DeSantis said a bill he signed on Thursday would help safeguard elections in part by strengthening voter ID requirements for mail-in ballots. He noted that ID is already required to vote in person. The measure also bans the mass mailing and harvesting of absentee ballots.

“We’re not going to let political operatives go, get satchels of votes, and dump them in some dropbox,” DeSantis said.

Has the law sparked controversy? Democrats say the new measures aren’t about election security at all. They charge it’s an effort to make it tougher for minorities to vote, in addition to making voting tougher for persons with disabilities.

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The law does allow an electoral good Samaritan to collect and return the ballots of immediate family and up to two ballots from people who are unrelated.

At least two groups immediately challenged the law in court, the opening salvo in what is expected to be a lengthy legal battle. 

This story originally appeared in WORLD. © 2021, reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

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