The Florida Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is hosting a series of online public panels to hear testimony regarding the civil rights implications of recent legislative changes to Florida’s election laws, access to early voting, and vote-by-mail procedures. The Committee intends to provide the Commission with their findings and recommendations on these topics. The first panel in this series will take place:
Monday, March 28, 2022, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm ET
Online registration (video and audio): https://tinyurl.com/2p9ed5cx
Telephone access (audio only): 800-360-9505; Access Code: 2762 199 2880
Members of the public will be invited to speak during an open comment period towards the last 20 minutes of each panel. Members of the public are encouraged to share their experiences and perspectives of voting in the state.
Closed captions and American Sign Language will be provided. Individuals requiring additional accommodations should contact lschiller@usccr.gov at least 7 business days prior to the meeting to make the request. The Committee will also accept written comments related to this study. Please send written statements on this topic to Liliana Schiller, at lschiller@usccr.gov by May 1, 2022. Meeting materials will be available at Florida Advisory Committee Public Folder.
Committee Chair Nadine Smith said, “Our Committee studied voting rights and voter disenfranchisement and issued several specific recommendations in our October 2020 report to the Commission. We turn back to this topic now given recent changes to Florida’s election laws and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to learn what has been done since we issued our report, and what still needs to occur to ensure every Floridian is able to cast their vote.”
The Committee’s focus for their first report to the Commission in this series will concern recent legislative changes to Florida’s election laws, as well as the extent of the state’s implementation of the Committee’s previous recommendations concerning vote-by-mail and early voting from their October 2020 report.
lschiller@usccr.gov