Florida tightened mail-in voting rules before Trump endorsed it, potentially impacting Democrats

There have been fewer requests for mail-in ballots in Florida for the 2024 general election than there were in 2020, a trend that could hurt Democrats in the state just as former President Donald Trump is moving to embrace mail-in voting.

In 2020, more than 4.3 million Floridians requested mail-in ballots, far exceeding the only 2 million who have requested them so far this year. The decrease could hurt the already diminished Democratic Party of Florida in what once was a swing state.

Following the 2020 election, Republicans in Florida changed the law, which previously allowed requests for mail-in ballots to remain valid for two election cycles. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a law in 2021 that would kick voters off the mail-in request at the end of December after an election.

Floridians now have 10 days before the election to request a mail-in ballot, a shift from the previous 12 days that were allowed until 2021. To request a ballot in Florida this year, voters must make the request by Oct. 24.

“It’s definitely inconvenient, and unfortunately we have to start all over again,” Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried told Politico. “It’s a waste of everyone’s resources to get access to voting.”

Florida Republicans previously dominated the mail-in voting process, but in 2020, Democrats began embracing mail-in voting much more than the GOP, due to the threat of COVID-19. Now, both parties are trying to get their voters back, and it is unclear if their messaging is working to remind voters of the new rules.

“We’re going to try to get requests back because there are some people who will only vote by mail,” Florida GOP Chairman Evan Power told Politico, noting Republicans were “probably confident in the Florida system. It’s just a matter of them getting to request it.”

Trump has embraced mail-in voting in this election, a sharp turn from his 2020 rhetoric, telling his supporters “whether you vote absentee, by mail, early in person, or on Election Day,” that Republicans will “make sure your ballot is secure and your voice is heard.”

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In 2020, many of Trump’s false claims about the election being stolen were based on Democrats utilizing mail-in voting. Even as early as this year, however, the former president attacked alternative voting methods.

“We have to get rid of mail-in ballots because once you have mail-in ballots, you have crooked elections,” Trump said in his victory speech following his win in the Iowa caucuses.