TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A Florida bill signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday provides sweeping elections-rules changes — including allowing DeSantis to run for president without resigning from his position.
The legislation (SB 7050) cracks down on violations of election laws, imposing a maximum of $250,000 in fines on voter registration groups who do so.
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Another major feature of the legislation is that it clarifies that the governor will not have to resign from office in order to run for another office.
On Wednesday, DeSantis filed his declaration of candidacy for president — something he is expected to formally announce later Wednesday evening with Elon Musk on Twitter.
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Supervisors of elections will also be required to send out voter information cards to all voters in their county, along with the following statement:
“This card is for information purposes only. This card is proof of registration but is not legal verification of eligibility to vote. It is the responsibility of a voter to keep his or her eligibility status current. A voter may confirm his or her eligibility to vote with the Department of State.”
SB-7050
This was an issue last year when 20 convicted sex offenders and murderers were arrested on voter-fraud charges after voting in the 2020 election. Several of those felons later explained they believed they were eligible to vote due to receiving Voter ID cards in the mail.
Additionally, the new law will bring the following rules into place:
- Makes formal-signature matching training mandatory for supervisors of elections and county canvassing board members
- Requires voter registration groups to register information about their officers and registration agents
- Mandates that registration agents be United States citizens
- Voter-registration groups must deliver voter registration applications to the division or supervisor of elections in their county within 10 days of completion
- Provides fines of $50 per each day an application is late — up to $2,500 in total — for each voter-registration application turned in after the 10-day deadline
- Gives the governor the ability to reschedule elections within 10 days (or as soon as possible if the 10-day window doesn’t work) that were suspended or delayed due to an emergency
Read the whole bill:
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