Increasing election security in Florida for future elections is a priority for the state’s lawmakers.
Three months removed from November’s general election, Sen. Ileana García, a Republican from Miami-Dade, filed three bills pertaining to increasing ballot box security and updating voting machine regulations.
SB 390 increases the role of law enforcement in the handling and transportation of ballot boxes across districts in Florida. The bill requires that ballot transfer containers be transported from the supervisor of elections to a precinct exclusively by a law enforcement officer.
Additionally, all ballots and ballot transfers would have to remain under the supervisor of an officer until they are transported to the supervisor. Officers will also be required to transport all ballot boxes, stubs, memoranda and other election-related papers to the supervisor of elections’ office.
In this bill, the responsibility of creating the policies surrounding the guidelines for the handling of the election materials by law enforcement rests on the agencies. The agencies must also draft guidelines for the handling of audio and video data recorded on the body cameras officers would be wearing while handling the ballots.
The agencies would have to specify the conditions under which the data would be stored and ensure that the officers are adequately trained on the procedures of election security and tasks related to transportation.
SB 394 creates the Election Technology Advisory Board to oversee standards regarding security standards for voting systems and centralizes the development and manufacturing of voting systems used in Florida to companies within the United States.
The bill mandates that all voting and election systems comply with standards prohibiting certain types of data. Any software developments and maintenance would also have to occur in the U.S. and be performed by U.S. citizens.
All voting systems would be required to use open-source code or inspected proprietary software. To combat possible foreign interference, the bill would introduce measures for hardware and software supply chains to ensure integrity and security.
The bill also introduces penalties for election officials for not complying with new security procedures.
Lastly, SB 396 aims to incorporate enhanced measures for voter identity verification, ballot handling and election monitoring.
The bill requires manuals and rules by the Department of State that would specify the procedures for voting, security measures and the handling of equipment and materials.
The requirements for voters requesting a mail-in ballot become stricter under this bill with photo-ID regulations. The bill also requires physical presence and direct verification processes at voting sites and introduces new provisions for mail ballots and specifies the handling of both electronic and physical electoral materials.
Criminal penalties for misconduct by election workers, the unauthorized possession or tampering with voting systems, and illegal printing of ballots or voter envelopes are also specified.
The three bills come as the majority of Florida voters report trust in their local election officials following the general election. According to a poll conducted by Secure Democracy USA, a nonpartisan organization, 75% of Floridians trust local poll workers and 73% trust their county Supervisor of Elections to conduct fair elections.
Additionally, the majority of Florida voters also support the expansion of early voting and mail voting.
All three bills were filed on Jan. 28, and none have yet to be been assigned to any committees.