Restrictions on Florida Mail-In Voting May Disadvantage Democrats in November’s Election

According to the Washington Examiner, changes to mail-in voting practices in Florida could disproportionately affect Democrats in the upcoming general election as they traditionally rely more on this method than Republicans.

Florida’s 2021 election law modified the state’s mail-in voting policy by eliminating the previous practice of allowing vote-by-mail requests to remain valid for multiple election cycles. Under the new law, Floridians must request a mail-in ballot within 10 days of the election, with this year’s deadline being Oct. 24.

“It’s definitely inconvenient, and unfortunately we have to start all over again,” remarked Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried to Politico. “It’s a waste of everyone’s resources to get access to voting.”

Politico also noted, as reported by the Examiner, that Republicans previously dominated mail-in voting in Florida but the trend shifted in 2020, with more Democrats opting for mail-in ballots in the general election.

According to Ryan Tyson, a pollster and consultant who worked with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on his presidential campaign, he was unable to vote by mail in the GOP presidential primary in March despite having done so in eight previous elections. “I was in another state the day of the primary,” Tyson explained. “I was in Colorado when I tried to request one and was notified I missed the window.”

Florida GOP Chair Evan Power stated, “We’re going to try to get requests back because there are some people who will only vote by mail.” He also mentioned that Republicans who previously used mail-in ballots would resubmit their requests, displaying confidence in the Florida system and indicating it’s just a matter of them getting to request it.