TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — As election officials navigate the damage and gear up for an election post-Hurricane Ian, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an emergency executive order Thursday aimed at ensuring voter access in the hardest-hit areas of the state.
The executive action addresses a number of issues highlighted by election officials in recent weeks, who say the biggest issues have been the number of displaced voters and polling sites rendered unusable post-Hurricane Ian.
Thursday's order will apply to Charlotte, Lee and Sarasota counties and will:
- Extend the early voting period to begin as early as Oct. 24 through Election Day, Nov. 8 and allows supervisors to designate additional early voting sites.
- Allows displaced voters to request a vote-by-mail ballot be mailed to an address other than the one in the voter file.
- Allows polling locations to be relocated and consolidated as necessary.
- Increases the number of eligible poll workers by making any poll work previously trained for the 2020 election cycle or later serve without re-training.
The governor’s order comes after his administration and Secretary of State Cord Byrd talked with election supervisors across the state.
“In the wake of Hurricane Ian, the Florida Department of State has worked with Florida’s Supervisors of Elections and Governor DeSantis to ensure that the 2022 General Election is administered as efficiently and securely as possible across the state and in the counties that received the heaviest damage,” Secretary Byrd said.
“Florida will continue to lead the way in elections administration in 2022, and I am grateful for and confident that our local elections officials will have all of the resources and support they need to run another successful election.”