Chris Dawson, Attorney, GrayRobinson
It’s hard to discuss politics when so many of our fellow Floridians continue to suffer following Hurricane Ian. I hope each of you and your families were safe in the storm and that you’ve encountered minimal disruption. Our hearts continue to pour out to family, friends, colleagues and neighbors who have lost so much. They will continue to need our support in the months and years to come. I am fortunate to frequent Bay (Panama City and Mexico Beach) and Gulf (Port St. Joe and Cape San Blas) Counties for work and the scars from Hurricane Michael are everywhere, though they are healing. As we take a minute to talk about elections, let’s keep Florida’s Gulf Coast in our hearts and prayers.
In the immediate days following Ian, Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd – a former Republican House member from Jacksonville – quickly quelled rumors of a delay in November elections. At the time of publication for this article, tens of thousands of homes in Southwest Florida remain without power, barrier islands remain largely inaccessible and neighborhoods in Central Florida continue to be inundated by floodwaters. Election infrastructure didn’t escape Ian’s wrath either, as entire polling sites were wiped away while many others are still being used as temporary shelters. Elections supervisors are scrambling for backup plans and face an uphill climb to recruit volunteers and poll workers to replace those displaced by the storm. The task of holding a “normal” election in many precincts is – to put it mildly – daunting.
All hope of a successful election is not lost, however. In fact, we’ve been here before. Wind the clock back to mid-October 2018 and elections officials faced many of the same challenges in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael. In that year, the two biggest changes made to ease hurricane-related woes were
1. Permission for Supervisors of Elections in affected counties to create county-wide voting “supercenters” for election day and
2. Relaxing some requirements for vote-by-mail voters to change their physical address for ballot delivery.
It’s unclear whether these specific solutions will be deployed this year, but they point to flexibility and ingenuity that may ease some of the challenges hurricane-stricken voters face. Officials from the Panhandle Supervisors of Elections offices have been on the ground in Southwest Florida or in direct contact with their state and local colleagues to share storm-weathered solutions.
If you happen to be a voter impacted by Hurricane Ian, here are a few tips from the pros:
1. Vote by Mail: If you expect that your mail ballot may have been sent to an unreachable home, you should contact your local supervisor’s office immediately. If you did receive your mail ballot, but decide that you would rather vote in-person, you can take the mail ballot to your polling location and have it canceled.
2. Physical Voters – Early or Election Day Voting: Keep checking your local supervisor of elections webpage and social media to find out where you’re slated to vote come November. You may be able to go to select locations for early voting, where any voter in a county can drop in at regardless of where in the county they live. Supervisors will also post updates for locations of election day precincts that are impacted by the storm. If you have any doubt on where to go to cast your vote, contact your local Supervisor’s office for help.
Regardless of the logistics deployed, state and local officials – including Governor Ron DeSantis – have pledged to do all they can to ensure every voter is able to exercise their voting rights. We all have a role to play:
1. Vote ourselves,
2. Encourage our friends and families in the impacted areas to vote and
3. Provide direct support to voting operations if able.
Supervisors across the state have many volunteer roles they need to fill for November 8. Check their website or give them a call and see if there’s a spot you may be able to fill this year as we pick up the pieces from Ian. If we chip in, we can ensure an accessible and fair election despite the obstacles. Bay County Supervisor of Elections Mark Anderson recently summed it up. “Florida voters are tough,” he said. “That’s the message we’ve got to send. We’re tough, we’ll get through this, we will find a way to get the votes cast.”
Chris Dawson is an Attorney and professional Lobbyist for GrayRobinson’s Orlando office and is licensed to practice law in both Florida and Alabama. He primarily focuses on lobbying and government relations for public and private sector clients at the executive and
legislative levels of state government. He is credentialed as a Designated Professional Lobbyist by the Florida Association of Professional Lobbyists. Chris also holds two degrees in Civil Engineering and has experience in construction litigation and design professional malpractice defense.
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