SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Gov. Ron DeSantis believes drop-off boxes for mail-in ballots should be done away with in Florida, saying he feels votes are either being tampered with or fraud is being committed.
What You Need To Know
- Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to get rid of drop-off boxes for mail-in ballots in Florida
- Numerous local elections officials, though, say the boxes are secure and convenient for voters
- In Seminole County alone, 54,200 votes were dropped off at ballot boxes
Local Supervisor of Elections feel disappointed with the proposed bill that could impact millions of registered voters.
Not only did Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Chris Anderson say he had no issues with vote by mail ballots being dropped off, but Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles and Volusia County elections supervisor Lisa Lewis both said the same. Still some voters are not against the proposed changes.
Michelle Dixon is a registered Seminole County voter and as long as she has been able to vote, she has chosen to do it in person.
“If it is out of my hand and in to that machine then I feel like it is safer,” Registered Seminole County voter MIchelle Dixon says.
In Seminole County, in the most recent presidential election, 54,220 voters dropped off a mail in ballot at one of the eight early voting site drop boxes. Boxes that according to the county’s supervisor of elections are always secure.
“We do not have any unmanned drop boxes in Seminole County," Chris Anderson the Seminole County SOE begins to explain. "And what I mean by that is unmonitored drop boxes.”
Voters like Dixon, still have concerns.
“Ballots can get destroyed by accident even," Dixon suggests I just don’t trust it.”
During in interview at CPAC last month, Orange county Supervisor of elections Bill Cowles said that he had 87,500 voters drop off a ballot, and like Seminole County, had no issues.
“There is already 50 different ways elections are conducted in all 50 states," Orange County SOE Bill Cowles states. "So you have to be careful that what may have happened in the other 49 states but it didn’t happen here in Florida, so we don’t need to fix it if it may have happened elsewhere.”
Lake County supervisor Alan Hays went to Tallahassee to testify about the proposed ban on drop boxes, and called on lawmakers to provide evidence of fraud to support the proposal.
“Give me time, date and place that the tampering occurred," Lake County SOE Alan Hays demands. "Then we can deal with facts, but until then I am not willing to waste much time.”
Despite no reports of fraud or tampering, voters like Dixon cherish their voting process.
One important thing to mention with this proposal is, if it is passes, all county’s would have to start the vote by mail registration process all over again. So if you want a mail in ballot, you will have to request it again as oppose to already being registered