Florida Republicans, led by Gov. Ron DeSantis, took a bold step this week to protect election integrity. By signing Senate Bill 90 (SB 90) into law Thursday, DeSantis codified common sense election reforms that will make Florida’s elections even more efficient and safe. Republicans in Florida and across the country understand that nothing is more important than protecting the sanctity of your ballot. In order to preserve our democratic system of government, it is absolutely vital that our elections are free, fair and transparent. Democrats try to dishonestly leverage common sense reforms for bad faith political attacks, but voters see right through their lies and political games.
The provisions of SB 90 include a number of reforms that streamline the election process while ensuring transparency. For example, the bill mandates increased transparency from county voting websites on election days so that citizens can more accurately monitor the progression of vote totals; the bill also includes increased transparency measures for ballot duplication and voter registration processes. There is nothing partisan or controversial about such measures. Attempts to create a scandal out of a more streamlined and transparent electoral process ring of hollow political opportunism.
The law also strengthens voter ID requirements, especially for mail-in voting. Democrats and their allies in the mainstream media will never admit it, but here’s the truth: a significant majority of Americans support voter ID requirements. That includes 75% of all voters, 69% of black voters and even 60% of Democrats. You need an ID to drive a car, to buy alcohol, to get on a plane and even to buy a pet. Americans understand that you should also have ID in order to vote. And Florida’s Republican leadership is smart to understand that public sentiment aligns with their own efforts to strengthen the Sunshine State’s election integrity.
The bill includes a myriad of other common sense tweaks to the process, like requiring more maintenance for online voter registration systems, strengthening vote-by-mail drop box security and prohibiting state or county governments from receiving private donations for election related expenses. Unfortunately, Democrats in Washington, D.C. are fighting the reforms listed above, which are aimed at making it easier to vote and harder to cheat. They’re trying to take a page from an old playbook for another Democrat-produced fake scandal. Don’t believe me? Ask Florida’s neighbor, Georgia.
In March, Joe Biden and Democrats lied about Georgia’s voting laws (which made it easier to vote by creating more time for early voting) to bully Major League Baseball into moving the All-Star Game away from Atlanta. The result? Georgians missed out on $100 million in projected revenue, a brutal blow after COVID-19’s economic devastation. Many of the businesses affected were black-owned, but that doesn’t matter to Democrats, who are dead set on weaponizing election integrity measures to fit their twisted, cancel culture agenda.
We will not allow D.C. Democrats to hurt Floridians with their fact-free antics. Already, we’re seeing legal challenges to SB 90. Partisan, cynical lawsuits will not stop Republicans in Florida and nationwide from defending the integrity of our elections. Gov. DeSantis and Florida Republicans ought to be commended for standing up to the woke mob and taking common-sense, effective steps to improve the security of the ballot. The Republican National Committee (RNC) and National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) support them fully. They are intervening in multiple cases nationwide to legally push back on frivolous Democrat lawsuits and are ready to join the fight in Florida.
Republicans support making it easier to vote and harder to cheat. We won’t apologize for that, no matter how many lies the Democrats tell.
Byron Donalds represents Florida’s 19th district in the U.S. House of Representatives.