Florida Secretary of State says goal is to allow ‘every lawful vote’ to be cast before elections

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s new secretary of state, Cord Byrd, took office in May this year, and his appointment was divisive.

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Democrats are concerned the former Republican state representative from Duval County could inject partisanship into the election process.

Daniel Henry, chair of the Democratic Party of Duval County, said that from the moment Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Byrd’s appointment as secretary of state, red flags were raised.

“He has shown an inability to be able to be truly bipartisan or to be apolitical,” said Henry.

Byrd carried a handful of controversial bills during his time in the Florida House, like the ban on sanctuary cities.

But UNF political science professor Michael Binder said partisanship is nothing new to the office of secretary of state.

“These are political positions. They’re appointed by the governor,” said Binder.

But Binder also noted elections are primarily run by election supervisors and their staffs.

“On the ground doing the work are paid civil servants,” said Binder.

And Byrd himself told Action News Jax his role on Election Day will primarily be focused on helping local elections officials resolve issues, should they arise.

“And we take immediate action to reach out to that supervisor to make sure that every voter, and the goal is that every lawful vote is allowed to be cast, and we take that really seriously,” said Byrd.

Byrd said he’s confident Florida’s general election will be free and fair for voters of all political leanings.

“We make it extremely easy for people and give them convenient options to vote and the supervisors are ready. So, now it’s up to the citizens to do their duty and get out and make their voices heard and go to the polls and vote,” said Byrd.

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Polls officially close at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Election results will start being posted on the Division of Elections website at 8 p.m. after polls close in the panhandle.

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Byrd said we’ll likely have an idea of who came out on top by 9-10 p.m. on election night.