Sen. Ileana Garcia introduces oversight bill for ballot boxes
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Sen. Ileana Garcia, R-Miami, filed a bill Thursday that would require law enforcement officers to transport ballot boxes from a supervisor of elections to a precinct.
“This legislation seeks additional safeguards to protect the integrity of election ballots. It’s common sense for there to be police supervision in the transporting or handling of ballots to prevent any possible tampering,” Garcia told Florida’s Voice.
“I would expect consensus in wanting to further secure the votes cast by Floridians,” she said.
The bill, SB 190, would direct all ballot boxes, including ballot transfer containers, to be supervised by law enforcement personnel at all times. It would also mandate all ballot stubs, memoranda, and related papers to be transported by a law enforcement official, according to the bill summary.
Garcia was inspired to write the legislation after seeing videos where she said a male tried to pry open a Hertz rental truck transporting absentee ballots days prior to the November midterm elections.
After Garcia called the police department to investigate, the male individual disappeared, according to the senator. Garcia also stated poll workers came out of the precinct and say keys to the rental truck were locked inside the vehicle.
Garcia does not know who is currently in charge of transporting the ballots. According to the Miami-Dade County Elections Department, poll workers are designated to transport ballots.
“It got me thinking about how vulnerable the system truly is,” Garcia said in a statement. “Why would we not secure what we consider to be one of the most important things we do as citizens, which is to cast our votes? Anyone can transport them, and no one is supervising????”
Representing District 36, Garcia defeated Democratic candidate Raquel Pacheco by just over 23,000 votes, or 59 to 41 percent. The area incorporates parts of Miami-Dade County.
In April 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill strengthening Florida’s elections. The bill, SB 524, included requiring voter rolls to be annually reviewed and updated while bolstering ID requirements.
It also directed any election law violations to be investigated by the Office of Election Crimes and Security while increasing penalties for election law violators.
“Twenty years ago, nobody thought Florida was a prime example of how to conduct elections, but we have become a national leader by running the most secure elections in the country. We need to do more to ensure our elections remain secure,” DeSantis said at the time.
If Garcia’s bill passed, it would go into effect July 1. 2024.
