Florida Republicans succeeded in making vote-by-mail more difficult. It disenfranchises Democrats.
A 2021 state law that now requires all Florida voters who wish to vote by mail to submit a new request each election cycle has reduced vote-by-mail rates in Southwest Florida by about 25 percent.
This has the effect of skewing elections toward Republicans because Democrats in Florida have a higher vote-by-mail rate than Republicans. In the 2020 election, for example, 59% of Democrats cast their ballots by mail while just 30% of Republicans did the same. In years past, vote-by-mail requests remained active for multiple election cycles, and many voters may still mistakenly assume their prior requests auto-renew.
The takeaway: request your vote-by-mail ballot now. Your request now will take you through the critically-important midterm elections of 2026. It only takes a few minutes online, and here are links to the Supervisor of Elections websites for Southwest Florida:
Sarasota County: https://www.sarasotavotes.gov/
Charlotte County: https://www.soecharlottecountyfl.gov/
Lee County: https://www.lee.vote/
Collier County: https://www.colliervotes.gov/
Disgusted?
Tell your friends they have to re-register, and post it on your social media!