Tallahassee, Fla. – In response to concerns from Supervisors of Elections throughout the state regarding the use of federal election security money, the League of Women Voters of Florida submitted the following letter to Alternating Chairs Rep. Jose Oliva and Sen. Rob Bradley of the Joint Legislative Budget Commission respectfully requesting:
- Extend the spending deadline provided to counties to December 7, 2018 and the final reporting deadline to December 28, 2018. This would allow counties to conduct post-election audit pilots should they wish to do so. Post-election audits are a key security enhancement in Congress’s intended use of the funds.
- Ensure the the funds earmarked for use by counties remain earmarked for use by them. This relieves counties of the pressure to “use it or lose it” and allows them to be more judicious and thoughtful about putting these vital funds to the best use.
- Ensure that the DOS is held to similar standards as the counties for its use of these funds, per the terms of its Memorandum of Agreement. This transparency is a key component of voter confidence and the election security that rises from it.
“It’s of the utmost importance that our state’s Supervisors of Elections are heard and appropriately supported,” said President Patricia Brigham. “These men and women are the foremost experts in elections throughout our state. If there are concerns about the time frame for their funding requests, it’s imperative that we listen to them.”
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