Senator: Duval Supervisor of Elections wants ability to opt out of new bill expanding absentee ballot collection

This could give absentee voters another way to get their ballot in without using the mailman.

The Florida House is scheduled to vote today on a bill which would allow early voting locations to accept vote-by-mail ballots.

Jacksonville Democrat Tracie Davis is the sponsor of House Bill 521, but one of her fellow local lawmakers is trying to get a key component of that changed in the state Senate.

Republican Aaron Bean's amendment to allow local supervisors of elections the chance to opt out under certain conditions was approved by a party-line vote during a Senate committee meeting yesterday.

During that meeting, Bean told fellow committee members his amendment to Senate Bill 726 was based on a request from Duval Supervisor of Elections Mike Hogan.

"They have told me and asked me to make it optional because it's additional hoops and additional training," Bean added.

No one from Hogan's office was at the meeting to explain to lawmakers why they wanted to make it optional or if they would opt out should the House and Senate approve the bills.

Several Democrats on that committee - namely Miami's Oscar Braynon - said they didn't understand the reasoning behind this request and others made by Duval's election officials in the past when it comes to voter access, specifically pointing out opposition to extending early voting hours and allowing early voting on Sundays.

"There have been requests like this made by the Duval County Supervisor of Elections quite often," Braynon added. "I've asked the same question over and over again. Why would you want this to happen? And I have really never gotten a good answer from them."

WOKV News has reached out to Hogan to get his side of the story and as he puts it, the ‘devil is in the details.’

Hogan says the bill would require each county across the state to enforce uniform methods for collecting the mail in ballots, but it doesn’t explain what those methods will be.

“You don’t know what it’s going to cost, you don’t what it’s going to say, until after you vote for it? I’m not comfortable with that,” Hogan explains.

Hogan goes on to say he’s not entirely opposed to the idea, depending on what those methods will include.

“Give us the option. If these rules are very costly or odorous, I wouldn’t want Duval County to participate. If it’s going to be something very simple, then it may be something we would do. In fact, I would probably trial it,” Hogan says.

Currently, Duval only accepts absentee ballots by mail or if they are dropped off at the main Supervisor of Elections office.

One more committee vote is needed in the Senate before SB 726 goes to the floor for a full vote.

The House and Senate versions would have to be reconciled before it could become law.

Hogan defeated Davis - a former Deputy Supervisor of Elections employee in Duval - during a special election in 2015.