JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Georgia voters now have three more days to send in their mail-in ballots for the November general election.
Earlier this week, a federal judge ruled absentee ballots can be counted in Georgia if they are postmarked by Election Day and arrive at county election offices by 7 p.m. three business days later. Some are wondering if Florida could follow a similar path.
But Constitutional law expert Rod Sullivan said that would have a major impact on the process.
“Our system works so that the ballot has to be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day, so the election can be certified,” Sullivan said. “If you’re going to push off certification of the election for three days, you’re really fundamentally changing the election system.”
Sullivan said the federal judge who handed down the Georgia ruling relied on an April ruling in Wisconsin. He said conditions with COVID-19 were different then and that’s why the later date was allowed.
Sullivan said if this were to happen in Florida, a lawsuit suggesting some voters would be disenfranchised would have to be filed. Sullivan said he wouldn’t be surprised by such a lawsuit, but noting the election is now two months away, he doesn’t think it would work.
“We are now two months away from the election. There’s plenty of time to obtain an absentee ballot, put a stamp on it, and make sure it’s received by the Supervisor of Elections by Election Day,” Sullivan said. “Therefore, I think the order that was issued in Georgia would not be appropriate in Florida.”
Sullivan said the solution is simple: get your ballot and send it in early.
“If you’re going to wait until the very last day, you’re going to create problems,” Sullivan said. “We want to know the results of the election on election night. We don’t want to wait three or four days.”
The Duval County Supervisor of Elections Office said, as of last week, 123,000 voters have requested mail-in ballots. In Georgia, the secretary of state is appealing the federal judge’s ruling.
