The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Feb. 26, 2024
Today’s Script
(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
One of the conspiracy theories trumpeted after the 2020 elections was that voting by mail leads to widespread voter fraud. None of it was true. But, the GOP attack on mail-in voting risks suppressing some Republican voters, too.
In a national Pew Research survey, just 28% of GOP voters now say ANY voter should be allowed to vote by mail. Four years ago, 49% of Republicans supported it. In battleground states like Florida, the fifth oldest state in the country, the GOP’s smearing of mail-in voting could suppress some voters unable to get to the polls.
In the 2022 midterms, mail ballots were cast in Florida by over 1 Million Republicans, 1.2 Million Democrats, and over 500,000 Independents. A November 2023 Tyson Group survey found that 76% of Florida voters had confidence in voting by mail, and a majority supported an automatic mail-ballot delivery list and secure drop boxes.
This, despite Florida’s 2023 law canceling mail-in ballot requests for hundreds of thousands of voters last year, forcing them to reapply. Another bill filed in January would return Florida to an absentee system with limited excuses.
The RNC, afraid it will lose votes, relaunched its 2024 “Bank Your Vote” campaign last week, encouraging Republicans to vote early by mail or in person. We’ll have more on this tomorrow.
We’ve linked the research at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
Florida Div. of Elections – Early Voting and Vote-by-Mail Ballot Request Reports
Florida Supervisors of Elections – Vote-by-Mail Ballots
The Guardian – (2023)Voters’ mail-in ballot requests cancelled as Florida passes new voting restrictions
Tyson Group – Survey of Florida Voters on Democracy Questions
Florida Phoenix – (2023) States that send a mail ballot to every voter really do increase turnout, scholars find
6 News Orlando – ‘It would be a complete disaster:’ Florida bill would end no-excuse needed mail-in voting
Associated Press – Republicans set to push mail ballots, voting methods they previously blasted as recipes for fraud
Republican National Committee – 2024 Bank Your Vote Campaign
Groups Taking Action:
National Vote at Home Institute, League of Women Voters FL, Disability Rights Florida, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans
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