Analysis Discovers Battleground State’s Widespread Deficiencies from Files Ripe with Deceased Registrants to Non-residential Addresses & Cases of Double Registration

TAMPA — As America’s most prized presidential battleground state and a focal point for increased voter turnout, Florida is ill-prepared for mail-in voting according to a new scathing report published The Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF). Unveiled today, the analysis found that Florida’s flawed voter rolls include widespread deceased and duplicate registrants, potential for double voting, and registrants with non-residential addresses.

“Florida’s concerning registered voter lists paired with the expected surge in vote-by-mail this fall is like watching a high-speed train collision occur in slow motion,” PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams said. “As a must win state for both political parties, Florida’s history with election integrity, ballot counting and voter rolls makes it particularly vulnerable to potential errors and fraud as we near Election Day. Our report’s findings will hopefully spur action by election supervisors and officials across the state to protect the integrity of the coming elections.”

Due to potential health risks posed by COVID-19, many Americans are expected to forgo their local polling precincts and choose mail-in-voting this fall to cast their ballots. The Florida report is part of a larger PILF project that collected and standardized 42 states’ voter data and marks the first of several state reports to be published in the coming weeks. 

Key findings from “Is Florida Ready for the 2020 Elections” report include:

• Deceased registrants — South Florida dominates in terms of deceased registrants remaining on the voter rolls, with Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade among the top counties. As of October 2019:
  • Palm Beach: 3,656 deceased voters on list and 139 votes cast by deceased voters. 
  • Broward: 3,339 deceased voters on list and 10 votes cast by deceased voters. 
  • Miami-Dade: 2,323 deceased voters on list and 45 votes cast by deceased voters. 
  • Hillsborough: 1,121 deceased voters on list and nine votes cast by deceased voters.
  • Orange: 1,000 deceased voters on list and nine votes cast by deceased voters. 
• Non-residential addresses –Nationally, during the 2018 General Election, 35,800 ballots were cast in 41 states, including Florida, from non-residential addresses. Florida was among the top ten states with 1,267 registrants on the voter roll who were later determined to either not have a residence anywhere in the state, or who were simply made up.
• Double voting – 1,836 Floridians’ records indicate that they voted twice in a national election with a second vote being cast in a different state.

Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF) is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm dedicated to election integrity. The Foundation exists to assist states and others to aid the cause of election integrity and fight against lawlessness in American elections. Drawing on numerous experts in the field, PILF seeks to protect the right to vote and preserve the Constitutional framework of American elections.

###