A group of Florida election supervisors asked state Secretary of State Cord Byrd on Tuesday to give more than a dozen counties additional flexibility to vote in the 2024 election, citing recent back-to-back hurricanes.
Florida Election Supervisors, an association comprising the top election officer in each county, asked Byrd in a letter for numerous deadline extensions and changes to polling place locations for western counties in Florida, including those in the purple Tampa region, that had been ravaged by hurricanes Helene and Milton.
“These regions are facing unprecedented challenges in the aftermath of these hurricanes,” the association wrote.
The group noted that some polling locations had been damaged or destroyed and that power outages have added communication barriers that would affect voting.
One of the Florida Election Supervisor’s accommodation requests included asking for early voting in polling places in some counties to stay open through Election Day, as well as relocating or consolidating certain polling places. The group also asked for more time to appoint poll workers. Citing United States Postal Service delays, the Florida Election Supervisors said extending deadlines for residents in affected counties to request mail-in ballots was also necessary.
A spokesman for Byrd told the Washington Examiner that the Florida secretary of state is in receipt of the letter and has been in contact with the association.
“The Florida Department of State will continue to follow up with Supervisors throughout this time as their needs evolve,” the spokesman said.
Making the changes so close to the election would ultimately be up to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who would need to sign an executive order for Byrd to implement them.
DeSantis previously showed a willingness to modify the election process for storm-impacted areas.
After the first hurricane, DeSantis signed an executive order in response to similar requests for deadline extensions and polling place changes.
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The Florida Election Supervisors said in its letter that those changes “may no longer be sufficient due to the compounded impacts to election infrastructure” caused by the second hurricane.
The governor assured Floridians during a press conference at the time of the first order that the changes would not affect “voter security efforts.”