DeSantis Extending Early Voting for Counties That Requested Accommodations, Not Politically Targeted

FORT MYERS (FLV) – Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office debunked news stories that claim DeSantis is “disenfranchising” voters by “only” easing voting rules in Republican areas after Hurricane Ian destroyed voting locations in those counties.

However, the governor’s press secretary, Bryan Griffin, called out the claim as untrue. Griffin pointed out that the supervisor of elections in Lee, Charlotte, and Sarasota counties were the only three counties to request accommodations.

DeSantis issued an executive order Thursday to extend early voting and ease restrictions on vote-by-mail ballots. The governor’s office said there is damage to polling locations and early voting sites, poll worker unavailability, and displaced voters in the three counties.

Even though those three counties were the only ones to request the accommodations, The Guardian reported that the governor’s voting modifications for those counties is “politicizing” a natural disaster.

“Supervisors outside of these three counties made no such requests and, in fact, have made statements about their readiness for the election (including Collier, Volusia, Osceola, Manatee, and Orange). This is easily and publicly verifiable,” Griffin said.

The Department of State conducted assessments of dozens of counties affected by Hurricane Ian and recommended modifications be made for Charlotte, Lee, and Sarasota Counties, the governor’s office said.

Griffin listed other news reports where counties including Manatee expected no issues. Another article reported that Osceola County’s nine early voting sites “are good.” In Volusia County, the elections supervisor said they will be open for voting after one polling location was damaged.

“Don’t worry about that,” Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis said.

Orange County election officials said early voting and election day precinct locations were “spared the worst of the storm.”

The governor’s executive order allows the Supervisors of Elections in Charlotte, Lee, and Sarasota counties to:

• Extend the number of days for early voting and designate additional early voting locations. The early voting period may begin as early as Monday, October 24, 2022, and can extend through Election Day, November 8, 2022.
• Allow voters in Charlotte, Lee, and Sarasota counties to request by phone that their vote-by-mail (VBM) ballot be mailed to an address other than their address of record. Voters must still provide an appropriate form of identification in the same manner as absent uniform service and overseas voters.
• Designate and provide notice of the locations for secure ballot intake stations and relocate and consolidate polling locations as necessary.
• Increase the pool of eligible poll workers who may serve within Charlotte, Lee, and Sarasota counties by making eligible any poll workers previously trained for the 2020 election cycle and thereafter and by encouraging state employees to serve as poll workers in these counties.