Playing Scrooge with our Florida Constitutional rights to Open Records -- five (5) days before Christmas -- Dull Republican State Rep. CYNTHIA STEVENSON introduced HB 983, to shield voter information from Open Records Requests.

This bill would restrict our ability to investigate wrongdoing in St. Johns County.

TWO VOTE FRAUDSTERS IN ST. JOHNS COUNTY would have escaped scrutiny and accountability if other-directed Republican State Representative CYNTHIA WARD STEVENSON's bill, HB 983, had been law.

Dr. MICHEL SERGE PAWLOWSKI, D.Sci., who faced criminal chargers of voter fraud for voting here when he was a FEMA executive ad Maryland resident; he took an adjudication withheld on voting fraud and now registers voters and campaigns for Dull Republican candidates like WILLIAM ANTHONY McCLURE,
Disgraced Former St. Augustine Port, Waterway and Beach District Chair BARRY MARK BENJAMIN, who lived outside SAPWB's territory, in Jacksonville, whom I challenged and who resigned in 2020.

Full disclosure: I filed to run against Dull Republican reprobate CYNTHIA "CYNDI" WARD STEVENSON on May 5, 2021. Naturally, her Confederates in the Republican Party are preparing to redraw her district to leave me out, along with residents of St. Augustine and St. Augustine Beach. (It's what I predicted would happen, some seven months ago, knowing of preditable leaves of Klannish GQP corruption in foul, fetid, filthy Tallahassee.)

From WJCT News:

Another curb on open records: This one would shield voter information.

State Rep. Cyndi Stevenson of St. Augustine has filed a legislative bill to shield voter registration data from public view, one of several bills that would exempt more information from Florida's public records laws.

In a news release, Stevenson said the intent of the bill is to "protect our citizens from scams," which she says have been carried out with the use of voter information.

Sevenson's bill would make a voter's phone number, email, party affiliation and birthday confidential information. While the public would not be able to access the information, it would still be available to canvassing boards, political parties, political candidates, political committees and election officials.

Stevenson introduced a similar bill in 2019. It died in the Senate after grassroots organizations like the League of Women Voters mounted an opposition campaign, arguing that the legislation would prevent non-partisan nonprofits, media outlets and academic institutions from accessing the data, potentially in ways to help the public.

Stevenson's version for the 2022 session now includes an additional provision: Florida's secretary of state would have the discretion to grant voter registration access "for any purpose" to any individual.

The Florida First Amendment Foundation, which opposed the earlier version of the bill, has not taken a position on Stevenson's new legislation, but the foundation does have concerns about unintended consequences like shielding political candidates from public vetting.

"You couldn't see whether [party affiliation] changed over the years. And that is something some voters want to know," said Virginia Hamrick, First Amendment Foundation staff attorney. "Have they always been in this party or is this a new switch?"

She says the organization also is leery about granting the secretary of state sole authority to decide who can access the data.

"How are they granting permission? Is it to every nonprofit that wants to get voter information that does voter outreach and informs the public?" Hamrick said. "Are certain groups going to get that information and others not?"

"Think about the constitutional amendments on the ballot. This information will be available to candidates and political committees, but it wouldn't be available to organizations like the League of Women Voters or other nonprofits."

Stevenson's bill has the support of some elections officials. Craig Latimer, departing president of the Florida Supervisors of Elections, thanked the representative for filing a bill that would address "the No. 1 complaint we hear from our voters."

"Misinformation or excessive texts and calls come from the data that a voter has on file with us on issues
completely unrelated to their right to vote," Latimer said. "It is an open opportunity for personal information to be abused.”

Stevenson's bill follows a trend in recent years of laws expanding what information is exempt from public access.

Other bills introduced this session would shield, among other things, cold case information in murders, the identity of individuals and groups involved in state executions, and residents who adopt dogs from shelters.

Democratic state Rep. Tracie Davis of Jacksonville is sponsoring a bill that would exempt the names of people who win lottery prizes of $250,000 or more. She said winners often are subjected to scams, harassment and "even a loss of life."

Sen. Manny Diaz Jr., a Republican from Hialeah, is sponsoring a bill that would shield "key details" of murder investigations regardless of whether the investigations are active. Information would not become public until it is provided to a person who was arrested.

Keeping details of murder investigations secret would "protect the integrity of the investigation and those individuals who cooperate with law enforcement," the bill says.

As far as pet adoptions, Rep. Fred Hawkins, a St. Cloud Republican, says the public should not have access to the names of people who adopt animalsfrom shelters or animal-control agencies operated by local government. The bill points to concerns about "stalking, harassment and intimidation" by previous owners.

In 2018, a constitutional amendment known as Marsy's Law was enacted to protect the identities of crime victims in Florida. Some police agencies have used the law to justify withholding all information about victims entirely, and police officers themselves have argued that Marsy's Law protects their identities in uses of force against the public.

The Florida Supreme Court announced this week that it would take up the question of whether Marsy's Law applies to police officers.

Hamrick, at the First Amendment Foundation, is concerned about growing exemptions to Florida's Sunshine laws.

"The number of exemptions leads to a less informed public and less oversight of the government," Hamrick said.

Raymon Troncoso

Reporter Raymon Troncoso joined WJCT News in June of 2021 after concluding his fellowship with Report For America, where he was embedded with Capitol News Illinois covering Illinois state government with a focus on policy and equity. You can reach him at (904) 358-6319 or Rtroncoso@wjct.org and follow him on Twitter @RayTroncoso.

See stories by Raymon Troncoso

Ed Slavin's note: Here is the text of SB 983:

HB 983 2022

1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public records; amending s.
3 97.0585, F.S.; providing an exemption from public
4 records requirements for specified information
5 regarding a voter or voter registration applicant;
6 authorizing disclosure of confidential and exempt
7 information under certain circumstances; providing for
8 future legislative review and repeal; providing a
9 statement of public necessity; providing an effective
10 date.

11
12 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 13

14 Section 1. Section 97.0585, Florida Statutes, is amended
15 to read:
16 97.0585 Public records exemption; information regarding
17 voters and voter registration; confidentiality.—
18 (1) The following information held by an agency, as
19 defined in s. 119.011, and obtained for the purpose of voter
20 registration is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s.
21 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution and may be used only for
22 purposes of voter registration, unless disclosure is authorized
23 under subsection (2):
24 (a) All declinations to register to vote made pursuant to
25 ss. 97.057 and 97.058.
Page1of5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.

hb0983-00

FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

HB 983 2022

26 (b) Information relating to the place where a person
27 registered to vote or where a person updated a voter
28 registration.
29 (c) The social security number, driver license number, and
30 Florida identification number of a voter registration applicant
31 or voter.
32 (d) All information concerning preregistered voter
33 registration applicants who are 16 or 17 years of age. This
34 paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in
35 accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2,
36 2024, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment
37 by the Legislature.
38 (e) The day of birth, telephone number, e-mail address,
39 and party affiliation of a voter registration applicant or
40 voter. For purposes of this section, the term "day of birth"
41 means a date of birth excluding the month and year. This
42 paragraph is subject to the Open Government Sunset Review Act in
43 accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed on October 2,
44 2027, unless reviewed and saved from repeal through reenactment
45 by the Legislature.
46 (2) A person's information made confidential and exempt
47 under paragraph (1)(e), except for a person's day of birth,
48 shall be made available to or reproduced upon request for:
49 (a) The person whose information was made confidential and
50 exempt.
Page2of5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.

hb0983-00

FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

HB 983 2022

(b) A canvassing board or an election official acting in his or her official capacity, for official purposes only.

(c) A political party or official thereof, a candidate who has filed qualification papers, an elected official, or a political committee, for political purposes only.

(d) A person who receives permission to access the information from the office of the Secretary of State, for any purpose authorized by such office.

(3) A person who requests information under paragraph (2)(b), paragraph (2)(c), or paragraph (2)(d) must sign an affidavit stating that such person is responsible for ensuring that the information is only used for the purposes authorized by this section.

(4)(2) The signature of a voter registration applicant or a voter is exempt from the copying requirements of s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution.

(5)(3) This section applies to information held by an agency before, on, or after the effective date of this exemption.

Section 2. (1) The Legislature finds it a public necessity that the day of birth, telephone number, e-mail address, and party affiliation of a voter registration applicant or voter held by an agency, and obtained for the purpose of voter registration, be confidential and exempt from public records requirements and used only for purposes of voter

Page3of5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.

hb0983-00

FLORIDA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

HB 983 2022

76 registration; official purposes by canvassing boards and
77 election officials; political purposes by political parties,
78 candidates, elected officials, and political committees; and
79 purposes approved by the office of the Secretary of State.
80 (2) A voter registration applicant's or voter's day of
81 birth, telephone number, e-mail address, and party affiliation
82 are personal and sensitive and could be misused by a dishonest
83 person if placed in the public domain with the applicant's or
84 the voter's name. By matching a name, full date of birth,
85 telephone number, or e-mail address, a dishonest person could
86 commit identity theft, which could result in financial harm to a
87 voter registration applicant or voter. A voter registration
88 applicant or voter may experience political harassment based on
89 his or her party affiliation. The potential for harm that
90 results from unfettered access to a voter registration
91 applicant's or voter's day of birth, telephone number, e-mail
92 address, and party affiliation, accompanied by the person's
93 name, exceeds any public benefit that may be derived from
94 disclosure of such information. In addition, such information
95 may be used for consumer scams, unwanted solicitations, or other
96 forms of invasive contacts.
97 (3) The Legislature also finds that e-mail addresses are
98 personal information that could be misused and could result in
99 voter fraud if released. A voter may engage in formal
100 communication with election officials through e-mail.
Page4of5 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.