WASHINGTON — Advocates and lawmakers are on a mission to change a Florida law requiring voters' signatures on mail-in ballots to match the signatures on file with election officials.

This comes after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled the law imposes “a serious burden on the right to vote.”

The case is still ongoing — it will now go back down to the District court. As this battle continues in the courts, advocates are pushing for states like Florida to allow alternative ways to verify voters’ identities beyond the exact match signature rules.

“When a voter is filling out an absentee ballot, they aren’t necessarily thinking, this is a test," said John Powers, an attorney with the Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

During the 2018 midterm election 45 Florida counties tossed a total of 3,668 mail-in ballots and 93 provisional ballots all because the signature on the ballot did not match the one on file. Powers challenged a similar law in Georgia last year.

He said a major problem both Georgia and Florida share is a lack of uniform regulations.

“Election officials aren’t trained experts. It would be basically like you and me looking at two different signatures, saying 'gee, does this look the same or does it not?' There’s no standards, there’s no training," he explained.

Advocates say over the years these same problems have plagued voters over and over again, hitting seniors whose signatures change over time and younger voters who register as teens.

“Depending on the day, how they are standing or sitting, or the surface in which they are writing, their signatures could change," said Denise Lieberman, an attorney with The Advancement Project.

"The ballots that were rejected came disproportionately from counties that had high proportions of voters of color," she said.

Now, many are looking for ways to reform Florida’s system. According to Powers, other states and local jurisdictions use signature verification technology or other ways to verify voters' identities.

“Using a bipartisan review committee, where you have people from each side of the aisle in a neutral process looking at the signatures can be a good way to do this," Powers explained.

Legislation has been filed on both in Congress and in the Florida State House that would change voter signature match rules. However, some like Republican Sen. Rick Scott who won in a race with razor thin margins over incumbent Senator Bill Nelson, believe the state should focus on following the rules already on the books.

“We have good laws in our state," said Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida), in an interview with Spectrum News. "The one thing that was frustrating for me with regard to what happened in Broward county is the laws (that) weren’t followed," he said.

Advocates say they will continue to fight to ensure thousands of legally registered voters’ voices are heard.

“There are already so many barriers to registering to vote, casting a ballot and having that ballot count. We need to focus on dismantling those barriers to the ballot," Lieberman said.

With the 2020 elections rapidly approaching, experts say Congress and State legislatures should take action to change these practices as soon as possible to ensure there's enough time to properly implement any potential changes.