Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ (R) administration rebuffed this week any attempt by the Biden administration to monitor elections in the state from inside polling locations.
The Department of Justice said in a statement this week that it was sending officials to 64 jurisdictions throughout the U.S., most of which were in red or purple states. Included in this list were three areas in Florida: Broward County, Miami-Dade County, and Palm Beach County.
Brad McVay, General Counsel at the Florida Department of State, responded to the Biden administration’s announcement by informing them that federal officials were not allowed inside polling locations, according to state law.
“(T)he Florida Department of State received copies of your letters to Miami-Dade and Broward Counties in which you seem to indicate that the Department of Justice will send monitors inside polling places in these counties,” the letter began. “We also understand you sent a similar letter to Palm Beach County.”
“But Department of Justice monitors are not permitted inside a polling place under Florida law,” the letter continued. “Section 102.031(3)(a) of the Florida Statutes lists the people who ‘may enter any polling room or polling place.’ Department of Justice personnel are not included on the list. Even if they could qualify as ‘law enforcement’ under section 102.031(3)(a)6. of the Florida Statutes, absent some evidence concerning the need for federal intrusion, or some federal statute that preempts Florida law, the presence of federal law enforcement inside polling places would be counterproductive and could potentially undermine confidence in the election.”
McVay’s letter noted that communications from the Biden administration to the counties in Florida “do not detail the need for federal monitors.”
“None of the counties are currently subject to any election-related federal consent decrees,” the letter continued. “None of the counties have been accused of violating the rights of language or racial minorities or of the elderly or disabled.”
“Your letters simply provide a non-exhaustive list of federal elections statutes as the basis for this action without pointing to any specific statutory authorization,” McVay concluded. “When asked for specific authorization during our phone call this evening, you did not provide any. Accordingly, the Florida Department of State invokes its authority under section 101.58(2) of the Florida Statutes to send its own monitors to the three targeted jurisdictions. These monitors will ensure that there is no interference with the voting process.”
