Latest news with #SenateEthics&ElectionsCommittee
Politico
11-03-2025
- Politics
- Politico
The battle over ballot initiatives heats up
Presented by Good morning and welcome to Tuesday. The fallout from ballot initiative battles on abortion access and recreational marijuana could result in new limits placed on the administration of Gov. RON DESANTIS. Last fall, DeSantis — who was strongly opposed to both measures — used the full force of state government to oppose both campaigns. That included spending taxpayer money on ads warning about the dangers of marijuana and pushing back on the abortion amendment that would have undone the state's six-week ban. At the time, many leading Republicans did not support either measure‚ and incoming state Senate President BEN ALBRITTON signed off on using money from the Senate Republican political account to target the marijuana effort. But privately, some Republicans were not comfortable with the idea of using taxpayer money to fight the initiatives. Now, state Sen. JENNIFER BRADLEY, a Fleming Island Republican, wants to ban such state spending in the future. Bradley, who said she voted against the two 2024 measures, got the Senate to add the prohibition Monday to a sweeping bill dealing with ballot initiatives. That bill (SPB 7016) would impose new restrictions on future amendment drives, a top priority for the governor this session. 'It's a matter of good government,' Bradley said after the Senate Ethics & Elections Committee approved her amendment and then advanced the bill. She said taxpayers should not foot the bill even on public service announcements that are supposed to be limited to factual information. 'That seems like a pretty conservative position to me.' The language Bradley pushed for is similar to a restriction the Legislature — and DeSantis — put on local governments in 2023. That law blocked cities and counties from sending out any kind of communications on local referendums. The state has never provided a full breakdown of how many millions were actually spent trying to defeat the two amendments — something Bradley said she supported trying to figure out. Albritton, however, last year did not seem too interested in having the Senate spend time delving into that matter. The question is whether the prohibition on state spending will make it to DeSantis' desk. State Sen. ERIN GRALL, the Vero Beach Republican helping shepherd the overall bill on initiatives, said she was concerned Bradley's amendment was too broad and would scuttle anti-drug PSAs in the future. A House bill also cracking down on initiatives does not include the ban. Just add this to the list of items that could create tension between the Legislature and the governor between now and early May when session ends. — Gary Fineout Have a tip, story, suggestion, birthday, anniversary, new job, or any other nugget that Playbook should look at? Get in touch at: kleonard@ ... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ... TODAY — Surgeon General JOE LADAPO is set to speak at a health committee meeting in Miami against adding fluoride to drinking water, reports Douglas Hanks of the Miami Herald. DESANTIS FAVE TALKING POINT ON CHOPPING BLOCK? — 'State senators introduced a sweeping higher education package Monday that would repeal a tuition break for out-of-state students who attend college in Florida because their grandparents live here, as well as targeting DEI language,' reports Andrew Atterbury of POLITICO. 'The legislation, SB 1624, appears to be an attempt to clean up language in state law that could be considered diversity, equity and inclusion, as the Trump administration targets DEI efforts nationwide. It unanimously passed an initial hearing before the Committee on Education Postsecondary, with two Democrats absent for the vote.' DISMISSED DEFAMATION SUIT — 'A state judge has agreed to toss a defamation lawsuit filed against the Florida GOP by the medical marijuana company that backed last year's failed ballot initiative on legal recreational pot,' reports POLITICO's Arek Sarkissian. 'Gadsden County Circuit Court Judge Ronald W. Flury on Friday granted a Republican Party of Florida motion to dismiss a case filed late last year by Trulieve, which contributed the vast majority of the roughly $150 million in campaign dollars supporting Amendment 3 … The opposing campaign launched a commercial claiming Trulieve, along with the handful of other state-licensed Florida medical marijuana companies, had written the measure to double down on a longstanding state ban on growing pot at home and create a monopoly on the adult-use market.' WAGE BILL ADVANCES — 'Those who work in apprenticeship, internship or work-study programs could be paid less than minimum wage under legislation that cleared a Senate panel Monday,' reports Gray Rohrer of USA Today Network — Florida. 'The bill (SB 676) would allow employees to check a box when applying for the job allowing them to be paid less than Florida's current $13 per hour. An amendment to the bill added in the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee will require the parent or guardian of a worker under age 18 to approve the sub-minimum wage pay.' CAPITAL PUNISHMENT — 'A man convicted of kidnapping a woman in Miami and later strangling her to death is set to be executed next month under a death warrant DeSantis signed Monday,' reports The Associated Press. ARTS GROUPS WAIT ON THE SIDELINES — 'Proposed changes to the way Florida's arts organizations receive state funding have leaders of cultural nonprofits watching developments in Tallahassee with a mix of wariness and hope,' reports Matthew J. Palm of the Orlando Sentinel. — 'Undocumented immigrants cost Florida taxpayers $660 million, new report says,' by Ana Goñi-Lessan of USA Today Network — Florida. — 'Juul Labs suit: AG announces $79 million settlement over marketing to kids claims,' by Jackie Llanos of the Florida Phoenix. — 'Fly-by-night government: Committee finds State of Florida paid out-of-state employee $42,000 to commute to Tallahassee,' by Michelle DeMarco of the Florida Trident. — 'Union seeking $5,000 raise for state correctional, probation officers,' reports Jackie Llanos of the Florida Phoenix. ON THURSDAY — The Florida Senate is holding a memorial for the late state Sen. GERALDINE THOMPSON (D-Orlando). PENINSULA AND BEYOND TIME CHANGE — 'When it comes to support for making daylight saving time permanent, one group on the Hill seems to constantly spring forward: Florida Republicans,' reports POLITICO's Isa Domínguez. TOWN POISED FOR ELIMINATION — State Rep. JASON SHOAF (R-Port St. Joe) introduced legislation to abolish White Springs, an 140-year old North Florida town that was once a tourism hub in the 19th century, and transfer all of its assets to Hamilton County, reports USA TODAY NETWORK — Florida's James Call. The proposal comes after an audit revealed that the town lacked up-to-date financial records, leaving auditors unable to assess the town's 'financial condition.' — 'Florida school shooting thwarted, police say,' by The Hill's Lauren Irwin. CAMPAIGN MODE TODAY — Local elections are happening in Palm Beach and Broward counties. Anthony Man of the South Florida Sun Sentinel has the details. ALSO TODAY — Florida Attorney General JAMES UTHMEIER is kicking off his 2026 campaign to keep his seat with a fundraising event at The Governor's Inn, reports Janelle Irwin Taylor of Florida Politics. FINE SLAMS WEIL — State Sen. RANDY FINE (R-Melbourne) slammed his Democratic congressional opponent, JOSH WEIL, after a staffer working on behalf of the campaign was arrested for burglary and theft. During a press conference outside the Florida Senate, Fine also criticized Weil's past. He referred to Weil, a teacher, as 'dangerous,' citing his conversion to Islam and an incident roughly 10 years ago in which Weil improperly restrained a student. Fine called Weil 'a dangerous man, unhinged, violent and supporting a radical anti-American ideology that views Donald Trump as a, as he put it, 'threat to the nation.'' In response to Fine's statements concerning the arrest, Weil's campaign manager WENDY GARCIA wrote in a text to POLITICO that the staffer was 'hired by and worked for a third-party contractor' and 'is no longer authorized to do any work on behalf of our campaign.' 'This is an unacceptable incident and we support the justice system working to deliver accountability,' she wrote. Weil also texted, saying, 'We're going to continue running a strong campaign focused on the issues that matter to Florida's working families.' Fine himself was ordered to take anger management courses last year after he allegedly cursed and raised his middle finger during a virtual court hearing. Fine denied the allegations and said the pictures were doctored. — Isa Domínguez BOOK REVELATIONS — 'In 'Revenge: The Inside Story of Trump's Return to Power,' journalist Alex Isenstadt [a POLITICO alum] details what he says was the Trump campaign's plot to derail DeSantis' 2024 primary bid in the most vicious way possible,' reports Nikki Schwab of The Daily Mail. The book says: 'Trump didn't just want to stop DeSantis from winning the Republican nomination … He wanted to destroy him and make it impossible for him to run for anything ever again … Trump told aides that he would have endorsed DeSantis as his successor if the governor had waited another four years to run for president. But DeSantis had burned the relationship down and destroyed his political career, Trump concluded.' TRUMP-MENTUM — Fabrizio & Associates, the Trump campaign firm hired by Florida gubernatorial candidate BYRON DONALDS, has new polling out that puts Donalds ahead of Florida first lady CASEY DESANTIS 'nearly 2 to 1' in the Republican primary, reports Florida Politics' Jesse Scheckner. The results come after Trump's endorsement of Donalds, which boosted his favorability. — ''Wake up Democrats!': Frustration boils over with party's response to Trump,' by Steven Lemongello of the Orlando Sentinel. TRUMPLANDIA AND THE SWAMP — 'Trump's $5 million gold citizenship card: What South Florida advisers say about the plan,' by David Lyons of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. — 'National wildlife refuge workers in Florida hit by President Trump, DOGE firings,' by Jeff Burlew of the Tallahassee Democrat. DATELINE D.C. SPENDING DEADLINE — The House is poised for a floor vote on the continuing resolution today in a bid to avoid a partial government shutdown and fund the government at current levels through September, report POLITICO's Lisa Kashinsky and Mia McCarthy. Democrats and several GOP holdouts say they'll be voting no on the package, with Rep. CORY MILLS (R-Fla.) among those who are undecided. DOE PROBE — The University of South Florida and the University of Tampa are among 60 colleges and universities being investigated 'over their responses to reports of antisemitic harassment and discrimination on their campuses,' reports POLITICO's Bianca Quilantan. — 'Jury is out on Rubio in Senate, as some lose faith,' by Laura Kelly of The Hill. TRANSITION TIME — ROB LOREI is stepping down as the longtime host of the WEDU program 'Florida This Week' after a cancer diagnosis, reports the Tampa Bay Times' Gabrielle Calise. He will continue to work with WEDU in a series titled 'Perspectives,' which will feature interviews 'with notable guests, exploring personal stories, experiences and worldviews.' — The Florida Democratic Party has named NANCY METAYER BOWEN as vice chair of Haitian American voter engagement, per Jesse Scheckner of Florida Politics. — MATT HELMINTOLLER will be leading Corcoran Partners' Space Coast office, reports Drew Wilson of Florida Politics. — CHARLES TRUXAL is now chief of staff for Rep. KAT CAMMACK (R-Fla.). He most recently was legislative director for Rep. MORGAN LUTTRELL (R-Texas). ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN — 'Drunken golf cart ride in The Villages ends with woman dead, driver jailed, cops say,' per the Tampa Bay Times. BIRTHDAYS: Alejandro Miyar with Berger Singerman ... Janet Scherberger, former communications VP at Tampa International Airport and former Tampa Bay Times reporter.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Committee would ban use of state funds to advocate on ballot measures
Republican state Sen. Jennifer Bradley speaking with reporters on March 10, 2025. (Photo by Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix) A committee of the Florida Senate approved an amendment to an election bill on Monday that would ban use of state funds to advocate for or against a ballot measure. The amendment — sponsored by Northeast Florida Republican Jennifer Bradley — was approved as part of a massive election bill (SB 7016) sponsored by the GOP-led Senate Ethics & Elections Committee that supporters say would reduce fraud and safeguard the petition gathering process for citizen-led constitutional amendments. Opponents say it's yet another move by the Legislature to make it much more difficult to place such measures on the ballot. Statutes already prohibit state and local officials from using their authority to influence or interfere with an election, but that didn't deter Gov. Ron DeSantis from spending taxpayer money last year to air public service ads against against two proposed constitutional amendments that he strongly opposed — Amendment 3, which would have legalized the adult use of cannabis, and Amendment 4 regarding abortion rights. 'This [legislative] amendment makes sure that taxpayers don't get the bill for political issue campaigns,' Bradley said while introducing the proposal to the committee. The government spending of taxpayer funds on those initiatives triggered at least two lawsuits last year. The ACLU of Florida and Southern Legal Counsel filed a lawsuit last fall against the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) after that agency created a website whose homepage included language stating that 'Amendment 4 Threatens Women's Safety.' And South Florida Democratic Sen. Jason Pizzo filed a lawsuit alleging that the Florida Department of Transportation improperly spent state money to oppose Amendment 4 last fall. In both cases, the courts rejected those lawsuits. The DeSantis administration and various state agencies declined media requests last year to list the specific sources of money they used to pay for the television ads. DeSantis did refer at one point last fall to a 'a wide variety of pots of money that are used for public service announcements,' according to the Seeking Rents website. The use of taxpayer dollars to fund those campaigns was documented in real time during the 2024 campaign. The Miami Herald reported that the Department of Children and Families had spent $4 million to pay a marketing agency for an 'advertising campaign aimed at educating Floridian families and youth about the dangers of marijuana, opioid, and drug use.' Though the ads never explicitly mentioned Amendment 3, they aired last September, as the campaign for the measure was receiving heavy news coverage Meanwhile, Smart & Safe Florida, the advocacy group for Amendment 3, claimed that the state government had spent $50 million in taxpayer dollars to campaign against the proposal. John Labriola is with the Christian Family Coalition, which strongly opposed Amendment 4. He testified against Bradley's amendment on Monday, questioning whether it would eliminate the ability of DeSantis or any future Florida governor 'to advocate against an amendment of this kind.' 'This in no way prohibits public service messaging campaigns from the state; a very important part of state government is messaging and informing,' Bradley later said, adding that 'when they cross over into attempting to influence the outcome of a ballot measure, I think that we're then trending into territory that makes me very uncomfortable as a conservative who is very concerned about what our role of government is in a democratic society.' Vero Beach Republican Sen. Erin Grall, carrying the overall election bill on Monday, said she 'appreciated' what Bradley was attempting to do with the amendment but said she had concerns going forward. 'I think that just the language that public funds may not be used to advocate for or against any matter that is the subject of an amendment or revision to the state Constitution could be interpreted so broadly that our 'Just say no to drugs' campaigns and just some different campaigns that we may have that need to be ongoing for a variety of reasons regarding our current laws could be prohibited, and so I think that I appreciate what the intent is but I would hope that we would be able to really more narrowly refine this revision to the bill as we move forward,' Grall said. Grall and everyone else on the nine-member committee, including all six Republicans, supported Bradley's proposal. 'It's a matter of policy and good government,' Bradley told reporters after the meeting. 'It's not a matter of do you support Amendment 3 or Amendment 4 or whatever amendment will be on the ballot next year. What do you think the role of government is? Is that a proper expenditure?' DeSantis denied doing any electioneering last year, telling reporters at one point that his state agencies running those PSAs were providing factual information and nothing more. Bradley's amendment answers that. It prohibits the use of state funds to publish, broadcast, or disseminate public service messages concerning an amendment or a revision on the ballot, 'regardless of whether the public service messages are limited to factual information.' Two Democrats last month filed proposals to sanctions those involved with using taxpayer funds to advocate for or against a proposed constitutional amendment. Tampa Bay area Rep. Michele Rayner's bill (HB 727) would ban any state department or agency from producing, disseminating, or funding any public service announcement related to a statewide ballot initiative. The proposal says the Florida Commission on Ethics 'may' investigate complaints of violations of the law. All state agencies would have to maintain records of PSAs produced or funded during the 12 months preceding a general election and make the records available to the public. Meanwhile, another bill (SB 860), labeled the 'Broadcast Freedom Protection Act' by Democratic Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, would subject any elected or appointed state official found to be interfering with broadcasters' decisions to air political campaign advertisements, 'particularly those related to statewide ballot initiatives,' to third degree felony charges. They could be removed from office and permanently disqualified from holding any subsequent elected or appointed office. The legislation further allows the Florida Commission on Ethics to investigate complaints alleging the law's been broken. Meanwhile, the Senate bill that would radically change the process of collecting petitions for citizen-led constitutional amendments was approved on a party-line vote in the Ethics & Elections Committee, 6-3. The Phoenix reported on the vast scope of the bill last week. It closely mirrors a version (HB 1205) that passed in a House committee last week. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A look at proposed election changes (so far) for the 2025 Florida legislative session
SB 528 would require pollsters to disclose their sponsors. (Stock photo by) When Florida lawmakers return to Tallahassee Tuesday for the start of the 60-day regular legislative session, they're expected to address a number of election and voting issues. Perhaps the biggest will be a set of proposals already put forward by Gov. Ron DeSantis that he insists are required to reform the petition gathering process for constitutional amendments. Many of those proposals are now included in a bill by Spring Hill Republican Blaise Ingoglia, one of the governor's closest allies in the Senate. His legislation (SB 1414) includes a number of provisions on that front, including: Eliminating third-party collection of petition forms and replacing it with the same verification measures used in vote-by-mail. Requiring proposed amendments by petition to define 'terms of art' (such as 'healthcare provider'). Requiring the attorney general to identify provisions in Florida Constitution or law that may be repealed in full or in part. Prohibiting any foreign national from funding political parties, candidates, or constitutional amendments. Mandating that election results undergo a full audit of every vote cast before election certification to ensure accuracy. A similar proposal (HB 1205) has been filed by Lee County Republican Jenna Persons-Mulicka in the House. Florida election supervisors have their own slate of proposals, as they articulated in an appearance before the Senate Ethics & Elections Committee in early February. Some of those proposals haven't found their way into proposed legislation at the moment. One of those items is that they want legislation to address a problem surfacing right now in Florida's 1st and 6th Congressional Districts, where special elections are set for April 1. The concern has to do with a measure passed in 2021 that requires voters to renew their vote-by-mail (VBM) ballot requests every two years instead of every four years, as previously was the law. That resulted in a statewide decrease in VBM requests in the 2024 election cycle, the first election year the measure was in effect, and it's really being felt this winter in those two special congressional elections. Dave Ramba, executive director of the Florida Supervisors of Elections (FSE), produced a pie chart to that Senate committee showing 98,343 requests for vote-by-mail ballots in last year's general election in District 1, when Matt Gaetz easily won re-election. He compared that to just 12,392 requests for vote-by-mail ballots in the special primary election held in late January. 'These voters three months ago were seeing vote-by-mail ballots for the November election,' Ramba said. 'We've gotten a lot of complaints about people [asking], 'Why didn't I receive one in January? Three months ago, I got one for the presidential — now we're doing a congressional special and we're now off the list automatically.'' Other requests by the supervisors include: Require U.S. citizens recently naturalized to obtain or update driver's license information within 30 days of naturalization. Align base pay for all constitutional officers, including supervisors of elections, clerks of the circuit courts, and property appraisers, with the pay raises for tax collectors and superintendents of schools approved during last year's legislative session. Exempt from public records personal information about election workers as part of 'Critical Infrastructure Assets.' Allow additional flexibility for designating early voting sites when the main office or other governmental offices are not 'practicable' for serving voters. That last request has been placed in bill form by South Florida Democratic Sen. Tina Polsky (SB 1486) in what she is calling 'The Disaster-Affected Voter Bill of Rights,' which would address problems in communities facing an election after a natural disaster hits. A similar measure has been introduced in the House by Pinellas County Democrat Lindsay Cross (HB 1317). Among the provisions are allowing a supervisor of elections to request that vote-by-mail ballots be sent to temporary addresses where evacuees are staying, rather than having to submit a signed statewide form; letting the U.S. Postal Service forward ballots; allow early voting 15 days before the election through Election Day; deploy mobile polling locations; assign additional early voting sites; offer intake stations beyond early voting hours; and hold ballots at local offices if the post office is out of action. Miami-Dade County Republican state Sen. Ileana Garcia has filed several bills that look likely to win support from 'voting integrity' groups that have swarmed state legislatures around the country following the 2020 presidential election. SB 390 would require a law enforcement officer to transport ballot boxes from a supervisor of elections office to a specific voting precinct, and mandate that they remain under the supervision of a law enforcement officer at 'all times' until delivered back to the supervisor. Garcia has said publicly that her motivation was a video depicting an individual trying to crack open a rental truck transporting mail ballots in the days ahead of the 2022 midterm election. SB 394 would create an 'Election Technology Advisory Board' to oversee voting security standards and centralize development and manufacturing of voting systems used in Florida by companies based in the United States. It calls for any software developments and maintenance of voting systems to be done only the U.S. and performed only by U.S. citizens. It also would require that a 'full supply chain analysis' be conducted on all hardware and software to ensure that they are produced and developed in the United States. SB 396 would require the Department of State to adopt stricter security and chain of custody oversight of ballots; authorize political action committees and political committees to station poll watchers in polling rooms and early voting areas; require audits following each election; require that a person requesting a vote-by-mail ballot attest to an allowed reason for such request; require a supervisor of elections to verify a certificate signature, a voter certificate envelope, and ballot material in a specified manner. Garcia has also filed SB 1330, which includes a tightening of the voter registration process. Two House Republicans have filed comprehensive election reform bills. Volusia County Republican Webster Barnaby's version (HB 1203) encompasses provisions relating to election systems, election security, drop boxes, and other vote-by-mail issues. A Persons-Mulicka bill (HB 1381) gives the Office of Election Crimes and Security subpoena power; requires supervisors of elections to re-register a voter who was previously registered but fell off the rolls within seven days unless they receive information that the voter is ineligible; lays out specific rules for poll watchers; says that a voter must initiate the request for a vote-by-mail form from the supervisor of elections. Her bill also requires supervisors of elections to designate a number of early-voting sites that can be no less than the number in the previous general election; says that any mail forwarding delivery service may not further forward any voter's official vote-by-mail ballot or envelope that has been delivered to the service's address, with anyone who 'willfully' violates that as being guilty of a third-degree felony; increases penalties to political parties, candidates, committees, or organizations created to support a ballot initiative from a foreign national. Northeastern Republican Dean Black has filed a bill (HB 1249) that includes provisions regarding qualifications of a political candidate; legal challenges to qualifications, and the use of disclaimers enclosed in voter guides. Another 'election integrity'-themed bill comes from Pinellas County Republican Berny Jacques and East Coast Republican Chase Tremont in the House. Their proposal (HB 831) would 'ensure' that only U.S. citizens can vote by strengthening voter eligibility verification by requiring state-issued IDs to clearly mark noncitizen status and mandating election officials use 'all verifiable data to verify citizenship.' Fort Myers Republican state Sen. Jonathan Martin has filed a bill (SB 1098) establishing that a drop box for vote-by-mail ballots may only be made available during early voting hours or during normal office hours. And Ingoglia and Panhandle Republican House member Michelle Salzman have filed resolutions in their respective chambers to allow Florida voters to amend the state Constitution to place term limits on school board members and county commissioners. The proposals would limit those public officials to two four-year terms, or eight years overall. Democrats are also filing election bills ahead of the session. One measure sponsored by South Florida Democrats Felicia Robinson in the House (HB 489) and Tina Polsky in the Senate (SB 848) would require the Florida Commission on Offender Review to develop and maintain a central database for people who have been disqualified from voting based on felony convictions. The database would provide individuals with information regarding any remaining restitution owed to a victim as ordered by a court as part of their sentence, and any remaining fines or fees initially as ordered by the court, as well. This is legislation that voting rights advocates and Democrats have been pleading for since the passage of Amendment 4 in 2018, which allowed formerly incarcerated felons ('returning citizens') who had completed their sentences to have their voting rights restored. The GOP-controlled Legislature threw a curveball into the implementation of that measure during the 2019 session when they required those individuals to pay all legal financial obligations, which dramatically lowered the pool of eligible voters. The fact that the state has never created such a central database has led to confusion. Palm Beach County Democratic Sen. Lori Berman has filed legislation (SB 72) that would allow candidates to spend campaign funds for campaign-related childhood expenses if the expense derives from the candidates' campaigns. The measure has already been passed unanimously in one committee (a companion bill has been filed in the House by Sarasota Republican Fiona McFarland and Palm Beach Democrat Kelly Skidmore). Polsky (SB 1634)and Palm Beach Democratic Rep. Debra Tendrich (HB 1473) have filed legislation requiring that supervisors of elections who work in a county where the main campus of a Florida college or state university is located must establish at least one early voting site at that campus. Orlando-area Democratic Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith has filed two measures coming out of last fall's epic campaigns for recreational cannabis and abortion rights, both of which received well more than 50% support but fell short of the 60% required for passage. One measure would allow voters to have a do-over of the 2006 constitutional amendment that raised the threshold to pass such initiatives from 60% back down to 50%. Another measure would attempt to ban what is already against Florida law but that the DeSantis administration still did last year — use taxpayer dollars for public service announcements to lobby on statewide ballot initiatives. Smith's bill (SB 860), the 'Broadcast Freedom Protection Act' says that elected or appointed state officials found to be interfering with broadcasters' decisions to air political campaign advertisements, 'particularly those related to statewide ballot initiatives,' would face third degree felony charges. They also could be removed from office and permanently disqualified from holding any subsequent elected or appointed office. Tampa Bay area Democrat Michele Redner has filed a similar proposal in the House (HB 727) called the 'Public Resource Election Neutrality Act,' which would ban any state agency from producing, disseminating, or funding any public service announcement related to a statewide ballot initiative. Jacksonville area Democrat Kim Daniels has filed a bill (HB 109) that would allow photography at polling places and early voting sites at specific times. All Voting is Local Action Florida, a voting rights group, is calling for legislation that would expand early voting options; require supervisors of elections to detail how they spend their budgets; funding to update Florida's Voter Registration System; and a bill that requires all counties to provide the same level of language assistance to voters whose primary first language is Spanish. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Measure to allow campaign funds for child care expenses glides through first committee hearing
(Getty Images) A proposal to let candidates spend campaign funds used for campaign-related childcare expenses if the expense derives from the candidates' campaigns advanced unanimously on Tuesday in its first hearing before a legislative committee in Tallahassee. Existing state law prohibits a candidate or spouse of a candidate from using campaign funds to defray living expenses for them or their family other than for transportation, meals, and lodging for the candidate or family member during a campaign. A 2018 advisory opinion from the Federal Election Commission declared that campaign funds may be used to pay for a candidate's childcare expenses incurred directly from campaign activity. Since then, 13 states have enacted their own laws allowing candidates running in state and local contests to use financial contributions for campaign-related child-care expenses. 'The campaign's funds cannot be used for general family living. They have to be directly tied to a campaign-related event, and they can't cover just routine childcare,' said South Florida Democratic state Sen. Lori Berman in describing the legislation (SB 72) before the Senate Ethics & Elections Committee. 'I think that this is a great bill because we're going to encourage more working families, more working parents, to be able to run for office,' she added. 'And they certainly bring a different perspective because they are part of the workforce.' Only about 8% of state legislators around the country are mothers with children under 18, according to a recently released report by the Vote Mama Foundation. That means that they're represented in state legislatures at less than half the rate they appear in the general population. A companion to the bill in the House (HB 61) is being sponsored by Sarasota Republican Fiona McFarland & Palm Beach Democrat Kelly Skidmore. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Election supervisors say poll workers need to be shielded from harassment, threats
Following another bitterly contested campaign season, Florida election supervisors are renewing their call for more protections for poll workers harassed, threatened and insulted by a conspiracy-minded voting public. Supervisors presented a package of recommended changes Tuesday to the Senate Ethics & Elections Committee, topped by a request to exempt from public records the home addresses of election workers. Lake County Elections Supervisor Alan Hays, a former Republican state senator, told the panel that in his GOP-dominated county, his staff has been regularly subject to abuse from the public. 'We've literally have had instances where they look at the election workers, photographed the people as they're leaving the office and photographed the license plate on the car. All of these things are intimidating to people,' Hays said. He added, 'For the sake of the security of the system, we need to offer this kind of privacy to our workers.' Travis Hart, elections supervisor in Lafayette County, and president of the state's supervisors' association, said fear of harassment is hurting recruiting. In Hays' Lake County, data provided to the committee shows that while nine full-time employees have been added to the supervisors' office since 2016, the county has lost about 150 election-season workers. While President Trump's name was not invoked at Tuesday's hearing, his fueling of distrust for election results and voting systems has clearly shaped some of the response. Florida also had 13 new election supervisors win office last November, a significant number officials say points to decisions by some longtime supervisors to bow out because of the ridicule and false accusations aired by a ginned-up public. Hart, whose home county, Lafayette, voted 88% for Trump, second highest in the state to Holmes County, referred to the 'political atmosphere over the past decade' as sparking situations where election officials 'become vulnerable.' Hart said allowing access to a poll workers' home addresses is dangerous. 'If you get one person, you get the whole family,' he said. Supervisors made a similar request in 2023, that was rejected by Florida's Republican-controlled Legislature. Similar resistance seemed to surround the latest proposal – with Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach, questioning Tuesday whether exempting election workers from public records information could cloud accountability. 'What's your response to the lack of transparency that would potentially exist when the average citizen can't find out who is transporting ballots, what party they are part of? Are we supposed to say, 'just trust the supervisors, trust the process?' ' she asked. Hays said it is important for voters to know their supervisors and 'thoroughly put their trust in a system that is full of checks and balances.' Hays said the already strong security of the system is what voters should focus on rather than seeking out the name of an employee. He pointed out that even as Florida's population is rising, its voter registration rolls are declining, which he said in some cases stems from people not wanting to have their names included in public records. 'That's counterproductive to what we try to do to encourage everybody that's eligible to vote,' he added. Prompted by Trump's unfounded claims about the 2020 election results, the state Legislature in 2022 enacted changes that made vote-by-mail more difficult. But supervisors are asking lawmakers to dial-back some of the overhaul. A requirement that voters renew their request for a mail ballot after a general election eft many voters without desired ballots for January primaries that occurred for congressional district vacancies, one in the Panhandle and the other on the East Coast, from Jacksonville to Daytona Beach. In these cases, following November's election, voters who had not requested another mail ballot were left calling their supervisors, Hays said. Instead, supervisors are asking lawmakers to restore a check-box on ballot envelopes where voters could simply request being kept on a list of those wanting to vote-by-mail. Lawmakers made it more difficult to vote-by-mail in Florida after Trump sought to discredit the system in advance of the 2020 election, which he lost to President Biden. Trump, and Republican voters, embraced vote-by-mail in 2024, with 3 million Floridians casting ballots that way. Still, almost 5.4 million state voters cast ballots early in 2024, the most popular method in an election where a record, almost 79% of registered voters participated. DeSantis would hamper ballot plans... DeSantis proposals would derail Florida citizen initiatives. What will lawmakers do? Threats and more... Florida elections officials harassed, threatened amid 'false accusations of fraud,' US House panel says Supervisors also are asking lawmakers for more flexibility in setting up early-voting sites. GOP lawmakers have pushed hard in recent years to restrict how many such locations can be established. Another recommended change from the supervisors is to require that U.S. citizens recently naturalized update driver's license information within 30 days of becoming a citizen. That would help supervisors maintain accurate voter lists and reduce usually inaccurate complaints from the public about undocumented residents casting ballots. 'A lot of things we do are predicated on perception,' Hart said. 'If we can get that cleaned up, it would be helpful.' John Kennedy is a reporter in the USA TODAY Network's Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jkennedy2@ or on X at @JKennedyReport. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Supervisors say poll workers should be shielded because of threats
