McGhee Asks Congress and Governor DeSantis for Clarity in Efforts to Protect Florida’s Vote During COVID-19 Pandemic
TALLAHASSEE – Citing growing concerns about a presidential election during a pandemic in the biggest swing state in the county, Leader Kionne L. McGhee (D- Cutler Bay) has asked Congressional leaders to explain the Postal Service’s plans to safeguard Floridians’ votes, and suggested to Governor Ron DeSantis a bar-code system to allow easy tracking of ballots by voters.
Voter suppression, by mismanagement or malfeasance, would be a devastating blow to democracy.
In a letter to Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (New York), who chairs the Committee on Oversight and Reform, Leader McGhee points out, “Voters in Florida, particularly the elderly and communities of color who have been disproportionately impacted by the virus, may wish to avoid their traditional local precincts and opt to vote by mail. However, our voters will want to be assured that their ballots will be delivered on time and counted.”
Leader McGhee added, “What do we do if mail services in south Florida are disrupted around the election? That’s what I’m asking Congress. Because there is no Plan B, we do not get a ‘Do Over’ on a presidential election. The system must not fail. Slowing the vote silences the voter.”
He is asking for details on the Postal Service’s plans to ensure efficient and timely delivery of mailed ballots. By Florida law, ballots must be received to the Supervisor of Elections office by 7 pm on Election Day. Any delays in the mail system could put thousands of votes at risk of being invalid.
Many Florida voters already choose to vote by absentee ballot. In both 2016 and 2018, more than 2.5 million votes were cast by mail, which is more than the population of 15 different states. And the prediction this year is for far more Floridians to choose to vote by mail. The fear is that any disruption of mail services near Election Day, November 3rd, could be catastrophic.
“We need to know that Floridians’ votes will count. We need to know that if there is a coronavirus concern that there is a plan in place. The federal government was able to use a barcode system so we could all track our stimulus checks, and I don’t see why we could not do the same for our vote by mail ballots,” Leader McGhee said.
In a letter to Governor Ron DeSantis, Leader McGhee asked about implementation of a bar-code tracking system similar to that used recently by the federal government while delivering stimulus checks. This would allow voters the ability to track their ballot and ensure their vote was received by elections officials.
His letter to the governor said, “I respectfully request that you coordinate with the US Postal Service to implement a bar-code tracking system for all mail in ballots for the August primary and the November general election. The voters should be able to track where their ballot is at any time in the US Postal system, and when it is delivered to the Supervisor of Elections. The recent stimulus checks proved that bar-coding and tracking could be implemented quickly and effectively; I look forward to your response on how this will be done.”
Leader McGhee added, “If I can order something online, know when it left the warehouse, when it left the post office, when it’s on a truck headed to my house, then voters in Florida should be able to track their ballot when they exercise their fundamental right and responsibility to participate in our democracy.”
