Florida's Proposed Rule Would Make it Harder for Floridians to Vote
Newsletter Volume 5 Issue 1
January 22, 2010
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA—The Florida Division of Elections proposed a new rule last year that would make it harder for some eligible voter applicants to prove their identity on Election Day and vote by regular ballot. The proposed change would alter previous practices in many counties during the 2008 presidential election and prevent voter applicants from correcting mistakes identified during the processing of their voter registration applications. Under Florida's “no-match, no-vote” law, eligible voter applicants whose names, social security, driver's license or state ID numbers do not match corresponding data in government databases are prevented from voting by regular ballot until the matching problem—typically a simple clerical error—is corrected.
On Election Day 2008, acting on legal advice from the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections, many county supervisors of elections allowed voters to clear up inaccuracies that were identified in the processing of their voter registration applications by providing valid identification at the polls. After doing so, such voters were able to vote by regular ballot.
The proposed rule, however, would require county election officials to notify unmatched applicants that they must prove their identity in advance of Election Day, or be forced to vote by provisional ballot, which would be rejected unless the voter provides a copy of his or her identification within two days of the election.
Advancement Project, along with the Brennan Center and other pro bono counsel, represents the Florida State Conference of the NAACP and other plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit challenging the “no-match, no-vote” law. When Advancement Project learned about the proposed rule in November, it submitted comments, arguing that the rule change would unnecessarily restrict the rights that eligible voters had in 2008.
The proposed rule would require supervisors of elections to notify voter applicants whose personal identifying number—their social security number, driver's license number or state identification number—cannot be verified through the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Social Security Administration, or Bureau of Voter Registration Services that: (1) in order to vote by regular ballot in the upcoming election, they must provide their supervisor “beforehand” with a copy of their Florida driver's license, state identification card, or social security card; and (2) if the voter does not supply this “before going to the polls,” the voter will only be able to vote a provisional ballot, which will not be counted unless the voter presents evidence of his or her driver's license, state ID card, or social security card to the supervisor within two days of the election.
Elizabeth Westfall, Advancement Project's Director of Voter Protection, said Advancement Project commented on the proposal because such an unnecessary change would place an additional burden on voters, who, if not allowed to clear up the problem on Election Day would have to provide the county supervisor with identification within 48 hours of the election. “The proposed rule is a major step backwards from the more flexible, sensible practice in 2008 in many counties where unmatched voters were allowed to provide their ID on Election Day and vote by regular ballot,” she said. “These counties implemented this practice without incident. Given the ease of administration of this practice, and the disproportionate effect that the no-match law has on minority voters, we are hopeful that Florida will not adopt the proposed rule in its current form.” Westfall said.
