Politics & Government

Supervisor of Elections Pleased with Election Reform Bill

The bill would allow local supervisor of elections to have more say in early voting.

A bill designed to make it easier to vote and to allow local supervisor of elections to have more latitude over early voting decisions has the approval of Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark. 

"Supervisors of Elections were very active during the legislative session, staying in touch with their local delegations to support election legislation that was in the best interests of Florida voters,” Clark said in a news release. “Brian Corley, Pasco County Supervisor of Elections, representing Supervisors as their Legislative Committee Chairman, worked tirelessly to ensure passage of a meaningful elections bill that will improve the election process.  We are hopeful that the Governor will sign this bill into law.”

CS/HB 7013, which has passed the state legislature, would allow voter signatures on precinct registers to be used to update voter records for the canvassing boards to use validating ballots. The bill would also allow voters who forget to sign their mail-in ballot to file an affidavit with the county election official so the ballot can count. 

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According to the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections, the law will help each county have more of a say with early voting 

"The Legislature took into consideration the concerns of Supervisors of Elections and provided flexibility in the hours, dates and locations of early voting.  Given this new latitude, Supervisors will be able to assess the needs of their local communities, re-evaluate current sites and consider other locations.  

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As we know, the one size fits all approach does not work in a state that is as diverse as Florida.  For example, Pinellas County has provided early voting the Sunday prior to the election when statutorily allowable and will continue to do so once this bill takes effect. Our primary goal is for all voters to have access to ballots and be able to participate in our representative democracy."       

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