Today, Secretary of State Laurel Lee enacted a rule to relieve some of the ballot qualification requirements for candidates who use the petition qualifying process to get on the ballot in Florida. The rule will allow petitions to be circulated, signed, gathered and submitted via email rather than in person. On March 25, the Florida Democratic Party sent a letter to the Secretary of State requesting the right to circulate, sign, gather and submit completed petitions digitally and in bulk, and extending the deadline for petition submissions.

Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo released the following statement:

“The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we campaign. We need to modernize our systems to ensure our campaigns and elections are safe. Over a week ago we requested simple modifications from the Secretary and while she took a step today — it’s not far enough. Our state can do more to protect our democracy and make it easier for people to participate. In addition to allowing petitions to be circulated and collected digitally, Secretary Lee should also extend the deadline as we originally requested.”