Florida election officials said Monday they do not plan to challenge a federal judge’s ruling that would force officials to contact voters who have mailed in ballots if a person’s signature on the paper does not match up the one on file for his or her registration documents.
“It is illogical, irrational, and patently bizarre for the state of Florida to withhold the opportunity to cure from mismatched-signature voters while providing that same opportunity to no-signature voters,” U.S. District Judge Mark Walker wrote in a ruling. “And in doing so, the state of Florida has categorically disenfranchised thousands of voters for no reason other than they have poor handwriting or their handwriting has changed over time.”
The new decree will ensure ballots from voters in the Sunshine State’s 67 counties are verified. While the Florida Democratic Party does not plan to appeal the decision by the Obama-appointed judge, they are opposed to the change because it means ballots that cannot be verified are eligible for being disposed of.
In addition, voters whose signatures do not match up would learn of the issue by 5 p.m. the day before the election and would have a chance to confirm or deny the mail-in ballot was theirs.
More than 23,000 mail-in ballot were rejected by Florida election officials in 2012. In 2010, less than 1,000 votes was the difference between former President George W. Bush’s victory and Democratic rival Al Gore, making this move only more controversial in what is expected to be a tight presidential race in Florida.
