Florida Legislature Considering Hand-Counting Votes Ahead of 2024 Elections

Tallahassee, Fl- Legislators in the Florida House of Representatives have filed a bill that would authorize counties to hand-count votes during elections if they desire during the next elections. 

Republican representatives Taylor Yarkosky and Berny Jacques introduced H.B. 359 to authorize counting votes by hand and to prohibit the use of certain vote counting systems. 

The prohibited systems include any “designed, produced, owned, or licensed by an entity that is owned, operated, or majority-controlled by a foreign company or a domestic company registered in another country, including a domesticated foreign corporation, or by a person who is not a United States citizen.”

Additionally, the systems’ production would have to be completed within the United States in order for it to be admissible for use. 

The bill would obligate Florida to publicly announce and explain the systems it will use to tabulate votes at least three months before the election they are intended to be used for. 

Election integrity has become a political priority for Republicans in the aftermath of former President Donald Trump’s allegations of interference in the 2020 elections. 

President Trump, who assures the 2020 elections were unfair, is facing several civil and criminal trials for attempts to overturn the 2020 election and personal financial dealings. 

While polls posit Trump as the favorite to win the Republican presidential nominee, questions remain as to how the outcome of the different cases will impact Trump’s political aspirations. 

Tonight, Republican candidates are to meet in Miami for the third primary debate. Despite public pressure for Trump to join fellow Republicans on the debate stage, he is instead opting to host a rally in Hialeah, Florida.

The debate will feature  Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (R), New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R), South Carolina Senator Tim Scott (R), and Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. 

As the potential candidate pool begins to shrink, remaining candidates seek to pick up support from those who have already thrown the towel.  

Currently, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis leads the way, closely followed by former Governor and Ambassador Nikki Haley.