Dear Governor DeSantis:
The legislature has passed and delivered to you for a decision SB 90, which will create barriers for eligible Floridians to exercise their freedom to vote by making mail ballots less accessible and more difficult to cast, severely limiting voter assistance, and making it more difficult for community voter registration drives to do their critical outreach. We ask you to do the right thing by Florida voters, stand by your pride in Florida’s 2020 election administration, and veto this harmful bill.
We are particularly concerned that SB 90, by design, seeks to silence voters’ voices based on what they look like or where they come from. For example, Black and brown voters work longer hours and live in larger households, making changes such as cutting out 24-hour drop boxes and limiting help with ballot delivery into proportionately greater barriers. Black and brown voters and young voters also disproportionately rely on community voter registration drives to access the ballot, making these restrictions especially unfair. No matter their race, background or zip code, Floridians must have the ability to safely and freely cast their ballots so that every voice is heard.
While restricting their constituents' freedom to vote, the legislature rejected many changes that would have expanded access and made voting more accessible for all eligible Floridians including:
Allowing voters to register up to and including on election day
Modernizing registration by using information government already has to get more eligible Floridians on the voter rolls
Postage paid return envelopes for mail ballots
Explicitly allowing voters to sign applications digitally just like they sign other important documents like leases and their tax returns.
We urge you to make it clear to the legislature for the 2022 session that passing these and other similar policies to modernize Florida’s elections is a priority. Until then, we ask you to veto SB 90 because it moves Florida elections in the wrong direction, making them less accessible, safe, and efficient.
Sincerely,
Fair Elections Center
Michelle Kanter Cohen, Policy Director & Senior Counsel
All Voting Is Local Action
Brad Ashwell, Florida State Director
ACLU of Florida
Kirk Bailey, Political Director
Advancement Project
Carolyn Thompson, Voter Protection Advocate
Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Florida Region
Yael Hershfield, Interim Regional Director
Common Cause Florida
Sylvia Albert, Director of Voting and Elections
Emgage Action Florida
Ancel Pratt, III, Florida Executive Director
Equal Ground Action Fund
Kristin Fulwylie, Consulting Director
Faith in Florida
Rhonda Thomas, Executive Director
Faith in Public Life
Joey McKinnon, Florida Director
The First Coast Leadership Foundation
Siottis Jackson, Chief Program and Operating Officer
Florida AFL-CIO
Rich Templin, State Political Director
Florida Rights Restoration Coalition
Desmond Meade, Executive Director
Florida Rising
Andrea Mercado, Co-Executive Director
The League of Women Voters of Florida
Patricia Brigham, President
NAACP Florida State Conference
Adora Obi Nweze, President
National Haitian American Elected Officials Network
Alix Desulme, Chairman of NHAEON
People Over Profits
Sean Shaw. Founder
Progress Florida
Mark Ferrulo, Executive Director
SEIU FL
Martha Baker, RN, President, SEIU Florida State Council
1199 SEIU
Roxey Nelson
Sierra Club Florida
Deborah L. Foote, MPA, Acting Chapter Director
Southern Poverty Law Center Action
Poy Winichakul, Staff Attorney, Voting Rights
State Voices Florida
Juanica Fernandes, Executive Director
Voter Participation Center
Tom Lopach, CEO
Voting Rights Lab
Women Talk Black
Stephanie Owen, Founder