USA Today: In 2024 preview, new Florida laws for primary could make it harder to cast ballots

Floridians will cast their primary ballots Tuesday under new voting restrictions a judge once said were designed “to target Black voters,” the first such federal election under the new law.

Voting rights advocates say the new rules make it harder to request and turn in absentee ballots and register voters as well as making it easier to challenge votes once cast. But supporters say the new rules are needed to combat voter fraud.

The primary will not only serve as a preview of presidential elections in 2024, but it will also test ideas about who should be able to vote, and how easily, in what has become one of the most electorally important states in the country.

By 2024, in fact, Florida might have even more restrictions. Its new election laws call for a committee to study rules similar to those in Texas, which led to a spike in rejected ballots in that state’s primary earlier this year.

Operating under new rules, Texas tossed out more than 12% of mailed ballots during its 2022 primary, up from what the Texas Tribune determined to be less than 2% in 2018.

“A lot of people have questions about this new law,” said Amy Keith, program director for the good government group Common Cause Florida.