Sunshine Sentinel

Florida is catching much criticism over its controversial new voting reform law that many argue amounts to voter suppression, a revival of Jim Crow laws and is generally aimed at disenfranchising many voters.

However, comparisons can be made between Florida's Senate Bill 90 and voting laws in the Northeast, especially in Delaware, home state of President Biden. And Republicans argue that the legislation is all about much-needed election reform that's all about safeguarding the sanctity of Florida's election laws.

"Florida leads the nation in election reforms because the Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis have taken a proactive approach to review and address any election issues," said Senate President Wilton Simpson (R-Trilby) in a statement issued by the governor's office shortly after SB 90 was signed into law. "Safeguarding and maintaining the integrity of our elections is important to all of us. We all lose when people have no confidence in the integrity of an election. That’s what we want to avoid. We don’t want to backslide."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. | flgov.com/

SB 90 was heavily amended, including dropping a ban on ballot boxes, before it passed the Florida Legislature along party lines in late April and was signed by DeSantis on May 6. The governor said he signed the legislation to "safeguard the sanctity of Florida elections," a statement issued by his office at the time said, adding that "Florida leads on election integrity and transparency."

"Florida took action this legislative session to increase transparency and strengthen the security of our elections," DeSantis said in his office's statement. "Floridians can rest assured that our state will remain a leader in ballot integrity. Elections should be free and fair, and these changes will ensure this continues to be the case in the Sunshine State."

DeSantis also thanked "legislative leaders on this issue," including Simpson, House Speaker Chris Sprowls (R-Palm Harbor) and Sen. Dennis Baxley (R-Tallahassee) and Rep. Blaise Ingoglia (R-Hernando County).

State Democratic lawmakers were much harsher in their assessment.

Rep. Anna V. Eskamani (D-Orlando) referred to SB 90 in a Twitter post as "Georgia-style voter suppression" and argues it will make it harder to vote by mail, prohibit groups from passing out water at the polls and that it will try "to limit ballot boxes."

"I’m sad but proud of the Democratic caucus for fighting so hard," Eskamani said in her April 29 Twitter post. "Keep fighting."

Rep. Omari Hardy (D-West Palm Beach) was widely reported to have called SB 90 the "revival of Jim Crow in this state whether the sponsors admit it or not."

The legislation was almost immediately challenged in court as voting rights advocates sought to block implementation of SB 90, while some news outlets examined what was in the new law.

In a May 6 news story, Reuters described SB 90 as a "Republican-backed law imposing new voting curbs" but also said the law gives "partisan election observers" greater powers to objections and requires anyone "offering voters assistance" to remain at least 150-foot distances, an increase over the previously required 100 feet.

"The new law restricts the use of absentee ballot drop boxes to the early voting period, adds new identification requirements for requesting such ballots and requires voters to reapply for absentee ballots in each new general election cycle," Reuters reported. "Previously, Florida voters only had to apply once every two election cycles."

Far stricter laws already are in place in the Northeast, especially in Delaware where policies prevent most early voting. 

"Democrats who have won election after election in states such as New York, Delaware, Connecticut, and Rhode Island have had little incentive to change the rules that helped them win,” The Atlantic said in a column published in April.

Delaware will not permit early voting until the 2022 election cycle and the state's plans for a 10-day period in early voting is well short of the 15-day minimum that congressional Democrats have proposed in voting rights legislation, The Atlantic reported.

"Few states have more limited voting options than Delaware, a Democratic bastion that allowed little mail balloting before the COVID-19 pandemic hit," The Atlantic said.

Delaware also requires voters provide give "a reason stated in the law" to be allowed to vote absentee. Allowed reasons include illness and disability, providing care for a love one or being a student.

Back in Florida, SB 90 allows for an entire week of early voting, more that is allowed in Delaware, the Wall Street Journal's editorial board reported last month.

An earlier Wall Street Journal news story reported that U.S. Census data revealed a lower black-to-white turnout disparity in Florida's neighbor Georgia than in New Jersey. That same news story reported that GOP states did not experience lower black voter turnout in the more recent presidential election cycle, where turnout was highest in Maryland, 75.3%, followed by Mississippi at 72.8%. The lowest turnout of black voters in November was in Massachusetts, 36.4%.

Different bear out what some voters want.

Of participants in an Honest Elections Project poll, 77% of voters - including 92% of Republicans, 75% of independents, and 63% of Democrats, said they support mandatory voter ID. Key demographics of voters in the poll were 64% of all voters, including 51% of black and 66%of Hispanic voters  as well as 59% of urban and 61% of Independent voters. They said they would strengthen voting safeguards that prevent fraud, rather than eliminate them.

In March a Rasmussen poll found that 75% of likely U.S. voters believe voters should be required to show photo ID before being allowed to vote, while 21% opposed that requirement.