Florida Enacts SB 90 — Restrictive Voting Law Limits Mail-In Ballots and Drop Boxes

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signs Senate Bill 90 into law, imposing significant new restrictions on voting access. The law requires voters to request a mail-in ballot for every general election cycle (eliminating the previous two-cycle automatic system); requires voters to provide their driver's license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number when requesting a ballot; limits drop boxes to early voting hours with in-person monitoring; restricts drop box locations and bars moving them within 30 days of an election; limits ballot harvesting by restricting possession of more than two ballots per person (except for immediate family); imposes harsh fines on election officials who make drop boxes more accessible; and restricts third-party voter registration organizations. The bill is signed into law despite record mail-in voting participation in 2020, when 4.9 million Floridians voted by mail — nearly double the 2018 figure. Black voters doubled their mail-in participation to more than 500,000. Multiple lawsuits are filed within minutes of the signing. The law is part of a wave of at least 19 states enacting 34 restrictive voting laws in 2021 — the largest such wave since Reconstruction.