Election Day still means something in Florida | Opinion

In 2022, the federal elections dragged on and on. Days turned into weeks. It wasn’t until December 13 that the last U.S. House race was called. Election Day turned into election month. The last federal election was not called until a total of 35 days after Election Day.

But that wasn’t the case in Florida.

The state managed to call all its U.S. House, Senate and gubernatorial races within two hours of polls closing. On election night, Floridians knew the outcome of their elections.

So how does the third most populous state manage to have its election results ready on election night?

First, we have to remember that Florida didn’t always get it right. It was December before we had any clarity in the 2000 Presidential election. A poor election system led to an uncertain election.

The 2000 suspense made it clear that Florida needed to improve. Policymakers had to modernize Florida elections.

Fast forward to 2023, Florida is on the vanguard of using technology to speed the process along. They have policies in place to get results sooner. Unlike other states, Florida has results on election night.

The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF), of which I am president, did a deep dive into what policies and procedures were part of this transformation from worst to first.

So what does Florida do to make it work? The most important reason PILF identified is because the state requires all mail ballots sent from within the United States to arrive by Election Day. In total, 18 states and Washington D.C. accept mail ballots that arrive after Election Day. Some of these states even accept ballots that arrive 14 days after Election Day.

Accepting ballots that arrive after Election Day is the primary reason for the delay in election results. When a state allows ballots to roll in for weeks, results will be delayed for weeks.

The speedy tabulation of votes also matters. Florida does this by beginning to tabulate mail-in ballots before Election Day. The pre-canvassing is done in the presence of observers.

But won’t early canvassing promote leaks and other political chicanery? Florida law addresses these problems. There are criminal penalties for releasing information related to the pre-canvass count. This is important because it resolves the biggest objection to early tabulation of mail ballots — namely, that political actors will use the data to their advantage. For example, large early leads in mail ballots by one candidate could be used to demoralize Election Day turnout for the other candidate’s supporters. Not in Florida.

Another important election procedure Florida has is electronic poll books. Florida has a voter ID requirement, and nearly every voter satisfies this check-in obligation with a driver’s license. The Florida driver’s license contains a bar code. Election officials swipe the code, see a picture of the registrant on the check in computer, and the voter is checked in. It takes two seconds. No more searching through small-print paper pages for the registration.

Electronic poll books also allow for shorter lines on Election Day. Best of all, electronic poll books alert officials if the person has already cast a ballot.

Ranked choice voting doesn’t exist in Florida either. That means election results are available faster. Tabulating results with cascading mini-elections takes more time and invites mistakes. In fact, in one California school board race, election officials admitted to miscounting ranked choice ballots and declared the wrong candidate the winner.

Florida went from worst to first in just two decades. Results are available on election night. Deliberate policy decisions enacted into law and implemented by Florida officials have made a positive difference. It is a change other states should copy.

J. Christian Adams, of Alexandria, Virginia, is the president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, a former Justice Department attorney and a current commissioner on the United States Commission for Civil Rights, to which he was appointed by President Donald Trump in August 2020.