TALLAHASSEE – Florida voting rights groups sent a letter Friday to Secretary of State Cord Byrd to demand the state not use unreliable, privately sourced data from EagleAI or similar platforms for voter list maintenance. Such action would likely violate both state and federal law and improperly jeopardize the voting status of thousands of Floridians.

The organizations released the following statements against the use of EagleAI in Florida’s elections:

“We cannot allow the rights of Florida voters to be put in the hands of an extremely partisan and unreliable software like EagleAI,” said All Voting is Local Action Florida State Director Brad Ashwell. “By instructing supervisors of elections in Florida to use this platform that may be taking incorrect and outdated voter data from unofficial websites, the Department of State is setting a terrifying precedent for our elections. This would only invite more challenges from bad actors wanting to keep Floridians from voting and will result in many voters wrongly being stripped of their registration status.”

“The distribution of this uncertain and wayward list by the Division of Elections violates the very protocols and procedures designed to protect our voter rolls and to ensure all voices are heard,” said Adora Obi Nweze, president of the NAACP Florida State Conference. “Historically, actions like this have disproportionately impacted Black voters. Elections officials have the responsibility to respect the processes and systems in place to protect Floridians’ right to vote.”

“Using unreliable software like EagleAI to determine who can vote in our elections puts voters’ rights in danger,” said John Powers, Program Director of Power and Democracy at Advancement Project. “Using this software in this way risks silencing the voices of many voters, including voters of color, young voters, and voters without a traditional residence. We encourage Florida election officials to avoid setting such a dangerous precedent.”

“Private individuals mass-questioning the voting eligibility of thousands of their fellow voters is un-American, and it’s not allowed under Florida law,” said Sylvia Albert, Democracy and Representation Policy Counsel of Common Cause. “Florida’s Supervisors of Elections work hard to uphold the processes and procedures that keep our elections fair, safe and secure. They deserve the support of the state to uphold Florida election laws, not directives that undermine them.”

“The freedom to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy and the foundation of all our rights,” said Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida. “Let’s be clear: Florida law does not allow private citizens to initiate voter roll maintenance. The state cannot potentially remove voters from the voter rolls based on unreliable and unverified information from a private citizen with a political agenda. Questioning the eligibility of thousands of Florida voters based on this data is a shocking display of partisan voter disenfranchisement, an assault on our democracy, and a violation of state law.”

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