ORLANDO, Fla. — As mail-in ballots start to come in and early voting begins, Republicans in Central Florida are taking advantage of the new election law to challenge mail-in ballots as the number of partisan poll watchers also has increased, according to Central Florida election officials.
This year is the first statewide election season since two new laws were passed by Republican lawmakers and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis despite their praise of how smoothly the 2020 vote went in Florida. The changes drastically reduced the use of drop boxes, imposed limits on dropping off ballots and required voters to re-apply to vote by mail every two years.
But the law also requires supervisors to give “reasonable access” to partisan and other outside observers to “review or inspect ballot materials,” including mail-in envelopes and signatures. That has had the greatest effect.
