Sweeping Elections Bill Passes House
On Thursday, the Florida House approved a bill that would have sweeping consequences of election laws. Republicans in the legislature have said the bill is needed to clamp down on voter fraud, and Democrats are saying that it's a political bill aimed at hurting democratic turnout.
Here are some highlights of what the bill would do:
* Would create a 9 member committee to pick the new date for Florida's presidential primary.
* Would put tighter restrictions on groups that do voter registration. The bill would mandate groups file papers with the state and submit lists of prospective new voters to elections supervisors within 48 hours of collecting their information. Currently, groups have 10 days to submit their voter lists. Organizations that file after the 48 hours would be subject $1,000 fines for late filings.
* The bill would change day of address change for registered voters. Voters moving within a county will be able to change their address, but voters moving to another county will be required to fill out a provisional ballot.
* The House bill also covers initiative petitions, one of the methods groups use to get a constitutional amendment on the ballot.
Currently, signatures are valid for 4 years, the bill would change that to two.
A companion bill is moving in the Senate.
To read more about the bill, visit the Palm Beach Post.
