So, as I've been talking about on this show and a lot of the conversations that are happening in the country, is this this new era of politics that we live in. You know, we now live in this wild West of American politics with the vast introduction of mail and ballots to a scale that we hadn't seen in prior elections since COVID and beyond, it's completely changed the dynamics of elections. I mean, we saw with the twenty two midterms Republicans got caught with our pants down because it's no longer about earning votes, it's about finding ballots. So the dynamics have changed. But even beyond that, you can look at places and states that are doing it right. Look at Florida, my state. I'm a little bit biased as a Floridian. I love this state. I think it's the best state in the country. But look at what we were able to do. We have a population of two million people and we were able to deliver results on election night. We had also been just recovering from a category for her and we're also facing another incoming hurricane as we went into election day. So why was Florida able to do it? And make it seem so easy, yet it's hard for so many of these other states. And this is a really important issue as we move forward, because we have to have faith in our elections. We need to know that they're being done right. We need to know that the people being elected truly are supposed to be there. And this is going to get more challenging because you look at the use of mail and ballots, you look at the use of absentee ballots. It's all grown exponentially from in two thousand four to six in and we used to be able to call elections on election night. That used to be the norm. Look at presidential elections of the past. The Associated Press was able to call the presidential race for Barack Obama eleven eight pm on election night. The AP called the election for Donald Trump at to twenty nine a m. The next day after the election, but in with mail and ballots, the AP didn't call the race until a m Eastern November seven, four days after the election. And you look at in the mid terms how long it has taken to count the votes in some of these states. So we're going to talk to the guy who who is in charge of Florida's elections about what Florida does to get things right. We've recently made changes as a state, uh looking at things, strengthening laws on things like drop boxes. Now they must be monitored in person by election workers. We're going to talk about that. Also, Republicans created a new Elections Investigations Unit as well, among the first of the kind in its nation, to ensure that people are doing the right thing and voting. So we're going to talk to the guy who's leading the charge in a state that's doing it right. Maybe some of the other states will learn, and that conversation is going to be a Secretary State, Cord Bird. He was appointed by Governor Ronda Stantis as Florida's thirty seven Secretary of State and he has spent his life of writing for the Constitution, individual liberty, economic freedom, limited government. So he wants to make sure that our elections are done right, that that people have integrity in our elections. So that's what we're going to talk about today and maybe just maybe it'll be a blueprint for some of these other states that can't seem to figure it out. I'm looking at you, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada. So I hope you enjoyed this conversation and we'll all learn a lot together. So, Secretary of Cordbora, thank you so much for joining the show. I'm a florid iad, so it's awesome to have you on. We live in the best state, so thanks for taking the time. Thank you, Lisa. And yes, you're right, the Sunshine States leading the way it really is on everything including elections and and this was really underscored on election night when we were able to cow our ballots, our votes in a state of twenty two million people, when all these other states could not. So why is it so easy for Florida and so hard for everyone else? Sure, I mean it all begins with putting the right to laws in place with the legislature and the governor. I mean, going back to two thousand, we we learned our lesson and during every cycle we continue to improve upon our laws. No matter how well we do, we continue to do better. So, for example, um, we start canvassing votes, which for for your listeners who may not know, that means counting the vote by mail and the and the early votes. Twenty two days prior to election day, we started the supervisors can start counting those votes. So on election night, that very first number that comes out within minutes of the polls closing is your early and vote by mail. And then we have strict standards in place that every for every first forty five minutes and then thereafter every thirty minutes, they have to report the election day results as the precincts are reporting. So we don't give them the lead eight to just say, hey, you've gotten multiple days to count. We require them to get their their account in that night. Well, and obviously you mentioned the Gore versus Bush controversy. I think it was almost twenty two years ago. It was twenty two years ago, you know, talk about you had mentioned that Florida made changes, talk about some of the changes that were made after that and and the continued strengthening of our laws here in Florida. Sure, so, I was actually in Palm Beach County in two thousand. Still have my sample butterfly ballot with the hanging Chad, pregnant Chad, the whole nine yards. And so after that, because we had multiple different voting systems in place in Florida at that time, the state decided that at the state level we were going to certify any voting system, so I have my own team of experts. Before anybody can bring a voting system into Florida to be used at the county level, we require that to be certified by the state so that all of the counties are on the same standards. That's one of the important things UM. I ran legislation when I was in the State House that says that the paper ballot is the best evidence of voter intent. So we use paper ballots in Florida. Even though they're tabulated by a machine, there's a voter marking a piece of paper on their vote. We have strict on vote by mail, strict requirements that anybody that's matching the signatures that they undergo training. We have UM an open process, so whether it's the logic and accuracy testing, so that's the before before the election cycle starts. The public can come in and look at the machines and and see that they're the counsel at zero and that they're working properly through the canvassing process. The public can come in and watch. On election night, the public can come in and watch. So we're always trying to balance access with integrity, and that's led to the gold standard that we are today. I mean, obviously there's a lot of concerns that mail and ballots are more susceptible to fraud. What's our what are your thoughts on that? Sure? And there and that goes back even to the Baker Carter Report in two thousand and five, which was the bipartisan UM commission that looked at voting in the United States. And even in that report they said that mail in voting is the most susceptible to fraud. UM. It is a popular method of voting in Florida. So on on this last election, we had about a third vote by mail, a third early vote in a third on election day. So we have as many safeguards in places as I think we can. UM on mail in voting. We banned ballot harvesting, So what you see in Nevada and California, that's illegal in Florida. UM. And then I'm required, my office is required before the next legislative session in three to provide a report on how to add additional safeguards to vote by mail. UH to just once again to increase integrity and security. Well, I think that's important to continue learning too, because you know, for instance, on mail and ballots. You know, how much of an increase have we seen since COVID in terms of the use of that. So it seems to make sense that as things change, you know, we're adapting and making sure that our laws are are meeting you know, today's world. Well, you're exactly right, and there are a lot of people for example, um and then this past race or this past election, and we don't in Florida. You have to request a ballot. So unlike other states that just mail, go ahead and mail a ballot to every single voter on the voter role, we do not do that. You have to request it. And it was on a two year cycle. So we had many people during COVID request one, but then vote by our in person this last election, so we had about there have been some reports that there's a there's a million mail out ballots that weren't returned, and that's true because those people, while during COVID they voted by mail, they then reverted back to their normal pattern of voting in person. This time and last legislative session, we've now gone to the request being for every two cycles to every cycle you have to request the mail. The mail in ballot. So that's an additional safeguard that we've put in place, and talk a little bit of out. So there were additional measures, uh that were enacted in right, like strengthening things like drop boxes having to be monitored by person by an election worker. Can you talk about some of those changes that were made and then the new Election Integrity Unit? Sure, absolutely so we've you and Florida we now call them a secure ballot intake stations, but they were formerly known as drop boxes. And in the difference being the dropbox connotates they can be put on a you know, in a corner somewhere and nobody watches it. Where the ballot intake stations have to be monitored by an election worker. Um, and I went to every all sixty seven counties after I was appointed by the governor and visited with every single supervisor of elections and looked at their operations. Many of them have two people watching because there's a twenty dollar fine in place to the supervisor personally if they don't if they leave that box unmonitored. Because some people are not trustful of the postal service, they like the convenience of the box. So once again that's one of those measures where we're trying to to balance convenience with integrity, and I think we've struck the right balance there. I mean, Secretary, I'm not gonna lie. If I was faced with the dollar fine, I think I would be running a tight ship as well. So exactly a lot of that's a lot of cash. I feel like we're in this weird places as a country because of obviously mail and ballots and absitute ballots growing so substantially since COVID. I mean, for instance, I think they've grown from in two thousand four to six in the country, you know, naturally, not sure what two is going to ultimately look like. Uh, you know, what are your recommendations for some of these other states, because obviously we don't have results on election night and we have to wait, you know, a week plus to get results. It really just undermines faith in the election process at large. It does, and I think that the number one thing they that other states can do and should do is start canvassing their vote by mail and early votes earlier. So just like Florida follow our mom moudele an example. Because the longer this goes on that it breeds distrust that allows for people to to call into question, uh, the integrity of the election. And that really is an easy chain change. And you know, people go, well, what do you know what happens to somebody releases the those results ahead of time? I mean only the s o E should have the supervisor of election should have those numbers. And we make it a felony in Florida if you are to release those numbers ahead of time. And we've never had that happen where those numbers got out before before election night. So I think that's the number one thing they could do. And also we have in Florida our supervisors of Election are there there um independently elected constitutional officers, their their professionals. They're accountable with the people, where in other states they don't have that model, and it's just another job that maybe uh you know, the city manager, a county clerk has in addition to all of their other duties, is every two or four years, they they're in charge of an election. That's not their full time job. And I think that's another difference that Florida has in place, that we have people who their their entire job all year round, all their dedicated to doing is making sure that they can get election results on Election nine. Yeah, I mean that that definitely, you know. And it's crazy too because you can go back and look at elections in previous election cycles, and you know, Associated Press called presidential race for Obama at eleven thirty eight pm on Election night, the AP called the election for Donald Trump at or to twenty nine uh the day after the election, and then in with mail and ballots, the AP didn't call the race until eleven six a m. November seven, four days after the election. Is it, you know? I mean, Florida makes it look so easy in terms. I know it's not. I know, you've got a big job and you work very hard to make sure the elections are efficient and done with integrity. But it is it that they just don't care and some of these other states, it's it's just hard to imagine that there are easy changes that could be made, yet no one seems to care to make them. It really starts with the legislatures, and that's what I encourage people to contact their state representative and state senator because they have the constitutional authority to do this. And you know, you mentioned we make it look easy, and I'm glad it looks that way because we do put a lot of time into it. You have remember we had a we had a major Category four plus hurricane hit a month prior to the election, and we had another one hit the day after the election, and we were still able to do this. So I think that our our results speak for themselves. And I've offered my services to any other state that's interested, more than happy to help them walk through Florida's laws and what they can do, because, um, it really is unacceptable, and especially in these mid term and in presidential races. I mean, it matters to Floridians what happens in these races and other states, and it undermines our confidence and those results when they can't do what we do well. And also, like you look at a mid term election and if it was this messy, this passimate from a cycle, then what is it going to be for the presidential election when you have more are people turning out in these states? You know, if they if they can't handle it for a mid term election, then you know we're really going to have confidence eroded in the upcoming presidential election. If they don't get their acts together, well that's it. And I went and looked at Arizona's laws and they do have some changes coming for twenty four. So it should improve some in Arizona with some of the additional changes they're making. Um, but it's going to take citizens in those states where they may not that they still have ballot harvesting to adapt until their their legislatures make those changes. They're gonna have to adapt to those rules and and fight on that that same playing field, even if they find that policy personally distasteful. That's what it's going to take to to to win these races. Quick break more on election integrity and talk about the concerns with ballot harvesting and why Florida bands it. You know, how can it be exploited? What's the concern there, and why don't we have it? It's a great question, and I mean when you hear in these other states, I mean you can, you can show up to the polling place with hundreds of ballots. And the problem with vote by mail is that it's it's unsupervised voting, and it's it's subject and these are my words, this is coming out of the Baker Carter report. This is it's subject to intimidation and coercion. UM. Sometimes people are paid for their vote by mail ballots, and so it when when somebody walks in with hundreds of ballots, or you hear these stories of individuals going through apartment complexes and asking and knocking on doors and asking them to turn in their ballots. UH, that becomes a problem whether or not those people are truly UM casting those votes and UH and UH and following the right procedure. So we had that problem in Florida. We've banned it. We still allow for someone if you if you're a family member, UM and you live with your grandparents, and you can take their ballots to the polling place. So we have a very prescribed law on who can be in possession of someone else's ballots. But it's very narrow and unlike Nevada and California. And I think, you know, I try to look at everything secretary from just like a common sense standpoint in lens. And if you look at you know, ballot harvesting, it's like the likelihood of it touching more hands, chain of custody concerns, and then that just introduces obviously the process possibility of fraud. When you know you're you're giving your ballot to someone you don't really know, you know, like who knows what they're going to do with it. Well, that's it. Um, you know that's a problem with you know that the people have had concerns about the drop boxes when there's some of the videos and people walking up with with multiple ballots. Um, the governor understands is very clear that he wanted ballot harvesting band and some of these other rules tightened up, and the legislature responded. And that's why, you know where the gold standard. Actually think this is like an incredibly important issue too, because I mean, you look at just the country as a whole. You know, there's a loss of faith in every institution, from you know, the media to our government to you know, essentially everything. And so for people to be able to trust that their vote counted, that the elections were done with integrity, that the people who are elected to the people that should be elected, I think it's paramount to you know, to having a thriving republic. It is, and you're exactly right, and I'm glad you called it a republic because that's what it is, a republic that uses democratic processes to elect our representatives, and if we lose faith in that institution, then I don't know that any of the others matter. So we have to get this right. And the encouraging thing is and this is what I would tell people in other states. We have so many Floridians who have become involved in the process. And I started uh over twenty five years ago as a poll watcher. UH And so it takes citizens becoming involved and active in the process, and that helps because the more people we have watching, the more people we have reporting. And we do have I I mean I was getting text messages all day long from people that would see things or have concerns, and we would look into it. I would call a supervisor, UH, my team would call out. And that's what it's going to to to rebuild that trust. UM. But I think Florida has said the example, and we can't get back to an election system that that every American can trust. I'm glad you mentioned that because I do think that you know, a lot of times we look to like the federal government, or we look to or elected officials, when a lot of times, you know, we can we need to take steps ourselves to try to to change things from the bottom up. So I like the fact you mentioned. You know, you can sign up to be a poll watcher, you can get involved to ensure that there's integrity in your elections. You know, talk about some of those steps that citizens can take if they're like, you know what, I'm sick of the process. I want to step up. I want to make sure that things are done right in my state. What are some things that people can do to sort of step up to the play and to try to change things on their own? Obviously from a legal standpoint, but you know, what are some things that people can do? Sure? Well, once again I mentioned being a poll watcher, but being a whole worker. Um. I talked to several people around the state when I would go visit supervisors and meet citizens and talk to them, and who are skeptical of what happened in twenty had concerns and they actually became a poll worker, meaning they they work for the county during the election cycle. And then they said once they got to see it behind the scenes and saw the safety measures in place, the chain of custody, what the supervisor of elections was doing, it gave build confidence in them. And then they go out and tell their friends, their neighbors, they're the people they go to church with. And it's that kind of that that organic system building up and citizens taking responsibility for their own government because it does it requires active participation. This notion that we can sit back and then be governed by other people and then just complain when things go wrong, Um, that that's not the way this is supposed to work. Yeah, and I really think, you know, obviously there's a lot of concerns about the country as a whole, but it's going to take each of us to you know, step up to the plate to try to redirect this country and to write the ship because the Biden administration is not going to do it. So and apparently in a lot of these states, you know, like Pennsylvania, they're not going to do it either, right, And I'm glad you mentioned that. You know, some people have been calling, well, we needn't we would have federalized or nationalized elections, We need one standard, and I think that's a terrible idea. Um. You know, not much good comes out of Washington, d C. When they get involved, and so as frustrating as it is to watch other states not get it, right. I think that the solution is to put pressure on the state legislatures in those states and the citizens and those states to step up and to say we're going to turn this over to Washington, because I just think that would be a monumental failure. I think that the Founder's got it right when they said it's the state legislatures that are to determine the time, place, and manner of elections. And you mentioned the desire to federalize elections, which has been you know, h R one, it was a top priority for Democrats to try to do that. What would that do to elections? You know, it kind of talked through that a little bit, sort of you know, gaming through what that could do to a country and what that would do to elections. I mean, obviously it federalizes it, but just kind of walk us through what that means, right, I mean you just talk about building to trust and and uh, and there's just there's not much good that comes out of washing in these days and in the in the gridlock um and their their inefficiencies and quite frankly, the privacy issues of having one centralized database with thy million Americans and uh, you know in one place and all that centralized data and information and knowing that that would lead to electing the most powerful person in the world, the president of the United States. I mean, you talk about corruption and distrust. I can't think of any any greater prize for someone to want to infiltrate and to take advantage of that, which is why having it diffused amongst the fifty states, and then even in Florida. I mean, one of our strengths is that even within our laws, all sixty seven counties can do it a little differently. We've got Miami Dade with a million and a half voters, our largest county, and then Liberty County with about forty five hundred. They do things a little differently to match the needs of their counties. But you would have to know how every all sixty seven are doing it to hack the system. If it was federalized, you would have to hack one system to get the keys to the kingdom. And that that's why it's just such a terrible idea, which they did tell us with the federal elections in that they couldn't be hacked because they're decentralized. But then then it but then it was Russia. Still the elections. But anyways, that's another. Yes, that's another. And listen, they're they're bad actors trying to I mean they they're constantly trying to probe our systems. And um that's not just Florida but other states. I mean, so there are there are bad actors internationally. They're trying to do bad things in our elections. UM, but we have great security measures in place here to prevent them. Secretary, is there anything I'm missing from this conversation, any important points that you want the listeners to know that we haven't touched on. I think the key is really is getting involved and participating. The I say this everywhere I I speak. You know, citizenship requires active participation and it's not enough just to to complain or yell at the TV, yell at the radio. They need to uh to volunte volunteer for a campaign, volunteer, furnace we'se office, volunteer, or become a candidate yourself. UM. So we're getting it right in Florida. Look to our model. I'll help anybody anywhere, anytime to to get so they get their elections right. Secretary Bird, I love our state. We live in the freest, the best state in the entire nation, and again we lead on another issue, which is what Florida does. So I appreciate what you do to keep it in election integrity to the state and thank you for the job that you do. Thank you we send for the opportunity to talk to you and your listeners and get get good information out to them. So that was Secretary of State or Bird of Florida. Interesting conversation. I just wanted to you know, look, Florida has been able to do it right, so why can't everyone else? So I wanted to hear or from our top election guy about what we're doing different and why it's different for you guys at home and for myself too. So I hope you enjoyed it. I want to thank you for listening. I want to thank John Cassio, my producer, for putting this show together every Monday and Thursday, but you can listen throughout the week. Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, give us a rating as well. I love reading those and saying that, so thanks so much for listening. Until next time.

So, as I've been talking about on this show and a lot of the conversations that are happening in the country, is this this new era of politics that we live in. You know, we now live in this wild West of American politics with the vast introduction of mail and ballots to a scale that we hadn't seen in prior elections since COVID and beyond, it's completely changed the dynamics of elections. I mean, we saw with the twenty two midterms Republicans got caught with our pants down because it's no longer about earning votes, it's about finding ballots. So the dynamics have changed. But even beyond that, you can look at places and states that are doing it right. Look at Florida, my state. I'm a little bit biased as a Floridian. I love this state. I think it's the best state in the country. But look at what we were able to do. We have a population of two million people and we were able to deliver results on election night. We had also been just recovering from a category for her and we're also facing another incoming hurricane as we went into election day. So why was Florida able to do it? And make it seem so easy, yet it's hard for so many of these other states. And this is a really important issue as we move forward, because we have to have faith in our elections. We need to know that they're being done right. We need to know that the people being elected truly are supposed to be there. And this is going to get more challenging because you look at the use of mail and ballots, you look at the use of absentee ballots. It's all grown exponentially from in two thousand four to six in and we used to be able to call elections on election night. That used to be the norm. Look at presidential elections of the past. The Associated Press was able to call the presidential race for Barack Obama eleven eight pm on election night. The AP called the election for Donald Trump at to twenty nine a m. The next day after the election, but in with mail and ballots, the AP didn't call the race until a m Eastern November seven, four days after the election. And you look at in the mid terms how long it has taken to count the votes in some of these states. So we're going to talk to the guy who who is in charge of Florida's elections about what Florida does to get things right. We've recently made changes as a state, uh looking at things, strengthening laws on things like drop boxes. Now they must be monitored in person by election workers. We're going to talk about that. Also, Republicans created a new Elections Investigations Unit as well, among the first of the kind in its nation, to ensure that people are doing the right thing and voting. So we're going to talk to the guy who's leading the charge in a state that's doing it right. Maybe some of the other states will learn, and that conversation is going to be a Secretary State, Cord Bird. He was appointed by Governor Ronda Stantis as Florida's thirty seven Secretary of State and he has spent his life of writing for the Constitution, individual liberty, economic freedom, limited government. So he wants to make sure that our elections are done right, that that people have integrity in our elections. So that's what we're going to talk about today and maybe just maybe it'll be a blueprint for some of these other states that can't seem to figure it out. I'm looking at you, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada. So I hope you enjoyed this conversation and we'll all learn a lot together. So, Secretary of Cordbora, thank you so much for joining the show. I'm a florid iad, so it's awesome to have you on. We live in the best state, so thanks for taking the time. Thank you, Lisa. And yes, you're right, the Sunshine States leading the way it really is on everything including elections and and this was really underscored on election night when we were able to cow our ballots, our votes in a state of twenty two million people, when all these other states could not. So why is it so easy for Florida and so hard for everyone else? Sure, I mean it all begins with putting the right to laws in place with the legislature and the governor. I mean, going back to two thousand, we we learned our lesson and during every cycle we continue to improve upon our laws. No matter how well we do, we continue to do better. So, for example, um, we start canvassing votes, which for for your listeners who may not know, that means counting the vote by mail and the and the early votes. Twenty two days prior to election day, we started the supervisors can start counting those votes. So on election night, that very first number that comes out within minutes of the polls closing is your early and vote by mail. And then we have strict standards in place that every for every first forty five minutes and then thereafter every thirty minutes, they have to report the election day results as the precincts are reporting. So we don't give them the lead eight to just say, hey, you've gotten multiple days to count. We require them to get their their account in that night. Well, and obviously you mentioned the Gore versus Bush controversy. I think it was almost twenty two years ago. It was twenty two years ago, you know, talk about you had mentioned that Florida made changes, talk about some of the changes that were made after that and and the continued strengthening of our laws here in Florida. Sure, so, I was actually in Palm Beach County in two thousand. Still have my sample butterfly ballot with the hanging Chad, pregnant Chad, the whole nine yards. And so after that, because we had multiple different voting systems in place in Florida at that time, the state decided that at the state level we were going to certify any voting system, so I have my own team of experts. Before anybody can bring a voting system into Florida to be used at the county level, we require that to be certified by the state so that all of the counties are on the same standards. That's one of the important things UM. I ran legislation when I was in the State House that says that the paper ballot is the best evidence of voter intent. So we use paper ballots in Florida. Even though they're tabulated by a machine, there's a voter marking a piece of paper on their vote. We have strict on vote by mail, strict requirements that anybody that's matching the signatures that they undergo training. We have UM an open process, so whether it's the logic and accuracy testing, so that's the before before the election cycle starts. The public can come in and look at the machines and and see that they're the counsel at zero and that they're working properly through the canvassing process. The public can come in and watch. On election night, the public can come in and watch. So we're always trying to balance access with integrity, and that's led to the gold standard that we are today. I mean, obviously there's a lot of concerns that mail and ballots are more susceptible to fraud. What's our what are your thoughts on that? Sure? And there and that goes back even to the Baker Carter Report in two thousand and five, which was the bipartisan UM commission that looked at voting in the United States. And even in that report they said that mail in voting is the most susceptible to fraud. UM. It is a popular method of voting in Florida. So on on this last election, we had about a third vote by mail, a third early vote in a third on election day. So we have as many safeguards in places as I think we can. UM on mail in voting. We banned ballot harvesting, So what you see in Nevada and California, that's illegal in Florida. UM. And then I'm required, my office is required before the next legislative session in three to provide a report on how to add additional safeguards to vote by mail. UH to just once again to increase integrity and security. Well, I think that's important to continue learning too, because you know, for instance, on mail and ballots. You know, how much of an increase have we seen since COVID in terms of the use of that. So it seems to make sense that as things change, you know, we're adapting and making sure that our laws are are meeting you know, today's world. Well, you're exactly right, and there are a lot of people for example, um and then this past race or this past election, and we don't in Florida. You have to request a ballot. So unlike other states that just mail, go ahead and mail a ballot to every single voter on the voter role, we do not do that. You have to request it. And it was on a two year cycle. So we had many people during COVID request one, but then vote by our in person this last election, so we had about there have been some reports that there's a there's a million mail out ballots that weren't returned, and that's true because those people, while during COVID they voted by mail, they then reverted back to their normal pattern of voting in person. This time and last legislative session, we've now gone to the request being for every two cycles to every cycle you have to request the mail. The mail in ballot. So that's an additional safeguard that we've put in place, and talk a little bit of out. So there were additional measures, uh that were enacted in right, like strengthening things like drop boxes having to be monitored by person by an election worker. Can you talk about some of those changes that were made and then the new Election Integrity Unit? Sure, absolutely so we've you and Florida we now call them a secure ballot intake stations, but they were formerly known as drop boxes. And in the difference being the dropbox connotates they can be put on a you know, in a corner somewhere and nobody watches it. Where the ballot intake stations have to be monitored by an election worker. Um, and I went to every all sixty seven counties after I was appointed by the governor and visited with every single supervisor of elections and looked at their operations. Many of them have two people watching because there's a twenty dollar fine in place to the supervisor personally if they don't if they leave that box unmonitored. Because some people are not trustful of the postal service, they like the convenience of the box. So once again that's one of those measures where we're trying to to balance convenience with integrity, and I think we've struck the right balance there. I mean, Secretary, I'm not gonna lie. If I was faced with the dollar fine, I think I would be running a tight ship as well. So exactly a lot of that's a lot of cash. I feel like we're in this weird places as a country because of obviously mail and ballots and absitute ballots growing so substantially since COVID. I mean, for instance, I think they've grown from in two thousand four to six in the country, you know, naturally, not sure what two is going to ultimately look like. Uh, you know, what are your recommendations for some of these other states, because obviously we don't have results on election night and we have to wait, you know, a week plus to get results. It really just undermines faith in the election process at large. It does, and I think that the number one thing they that other states can do and should do is start canvassing their vote by mail and early votes earlier. So just like Florida follow our mom moudele an example. Because the longer this goes on that it breeds distrust that allows for people to to call into question, uh, the integrity of the election. And that really is an easy chain change. And you know, people go, well, what do you know what happens to somebody releases the those results ahead of time? I mean only the s o E should have the supervisor of election should have those numbers. And we make it a felony in Florida if you are to release those numbers ahead of time. And we've never had that happen where those numbers got out before before election night. So I think that's the number one thing they could do. And also we have in Florida our supervisors of Election are there there um independently elected constitutional officers, their their professionals. They're accountable with the people, where in other states they don't have that model, and it's just another job that maybe uh you know, the city manager, a county clerk has in addition to all of their other duties, is every two or four years, they they're in charge of an election. That's not their full time job. And I think that's another difference that Florida has in place, that we have people who their their entire job all year round, all their dedicated to doing is making sure that they can get election results on Election nine. Yeah, I mean that that definitely, you know. And it's crazy too because you can go back and look at elections in previous election cycles, and you know, Associated Press called presidential race for Obama at eleven thirty eight pm on Election night, the AP called the election for Donald Trump at or to twenty nine uh the day after the election, and then in with mail and ballots, the AP didn't call the race until eleven six a m. November seven, four days after the election. Is it, you know? I mean, Florida makes it look so easy in terms. I know it's not. I know, you've got a big job and you work very hard to make sure the elections are efficient and done with integrity. But it is it that they just don't care and some of these other states, it's it's just hard to imagine that there are easy changes that could be made, yet no one seems to care to make them. It really starts with the legislatures, and that's what I encourage people to contact their state representative and state senator because they have the constitutional authority to do this. And you know, you mentioned we make it look easy, and I'm glad it looks that way because we do put a lot of time into it. You have remember we had a we had a major Category four plus hurricane hit a month prior to the election, and we had another one hit the day after the election, and we were still able to do this. So I think that our our results speak for themselves. And I've offered my services to any other state that's interested, more than happy to help them walk through Florida's laws and what they can do, because, um, it really is unacceptable, and especially in these mid term and in presidential races. I mean, it matters to Floridians what happens in these races and other states, and it undermines our confidence and those results when they can't do what we do well. And also, like you look at a mid term election and if it was this messy, this passimate from a cycle, then what is it going to be for the presidential election when you have more are people turning out in these states? You know, if they if they can't handle it for a mid term election, then you know we're really going to have confidence eroded in the upcoming presidential election. If they don't get their acts together, well that's it. And I went and looked at Arizona's laws and they do have some changes coming for twenty four. So it should improve some in Arizona with some of the additional changes they're making. Um, but it's going to take citizens in those states where they may not that they still have ballot harvesting to adapt until their their legislatures make those changes. They're gonna have to adapt to those rules and and fight on that that same playing field, even if they find that policy personally distasteful. That's what it's going to take to to to win these races. Quick break more on election integrity and talk about the concerns with ballot harvesting and why Florida bands it. You know, how can it be exploited? What's the concern there, and why don't we have it? It's a great question, and I mean when you hear in these other states, I mean you can, you can show up to the polling place with hundreds of ballots. And the problem with vote by mail is that it's it's unsupervised voting, and it's it's subject and these are my words, this is coming out of the Baker Carter report. This is it's subject to intimidation and coercion. UM. Sometimes people are paid for their vote by mail ballots, and so it when when somebody walks in with hundreds of ballots, or you hear these stories of individuals going through apartment complexes and asking and knocking on doors and asking them to turn in their ballots. UH, that becomes a problem whether or not those people are truly UM casting those votes and UH and UH and following the right procedure. So we had that problem in Florida. We've banned it. We still allow for someone if you if you're a family member, UM and you live with your grandparents, and you can take their ballots to the polling place. So we have a very prescribed law on who can be in possession of someone else's ballots. But it's very narrow and unlike Nevada and California. And I think, you know, I try to look at everything secretary from just like a common sense standpoint in lens. And if you look at you know, ballot harvesting, it's like the likelihood of it touching more hands, chain of custody concerns, and then that just introduces obviously the process possibility of fraud. When you know you're you're giving your ballot to someone you don't really know, you know, like who knows what they're going to do with it. Well, that's it. Um, you know that's a problem with you know that the people have had concerns about the drop boxes when there's some of the videos and people walking up with with multiple ballots. Um, the governor understands is very clear that he wanted ballot harvesting band and some of these other rules tightened up, and the legislature responded. And that's why, you know where the gold standard. Actually think this is like an incredibly important issue too, because I mean, you look at just the country as a whole. You know, there's a loss of faith in every institution, from you know, the media to our government to you know, essentially everything. And so for people to be able to trust that their vote counted, that the elections were done with integrity, that the people who are elected to the people that should be elected, I think it's paramount to you know, to having a thriving republic. It is, and you're exactly right, and I'm glad you called it a republic because that's what it is, a republic that uses democratic processes to elect our representatives, and if we lose faith in that institution, then I don't know that any of the others matter. So we have to get this right. And the encouraging thing is and this is what I would tell people in other states. We have so many Floridians who have become involved in the process. And I started uh over twenty five years ago as a poll watcher. UH And so it takes citizens becoming involved and active in the process, and that helps because the more people we have watching, the more people we have reporting. And we do have I I mean I was getting text messages all day long from people that would see things or have concerns, and we would look into it. I would call a supervisor, UH, my team would call out. And that's what it's going to to to rebuild that trust. UM. But I think Florida has said the example, and we can't get back to an election system that that every American can trust. I'm glad you mentioned that because I do think that you know, a lot of times we look to like the federal government, or we look to or elected officials, when a lot of times, you know, we can we need to take steps ourselves to try to to change things from the bottom up. So I like the fact you mentioned. You know, you can sign up to be a poll watcher, you can get involved to ensure that there's integrity in your elections. You know, talk about some of those steps that citizens can take if they're like, you know what, I'm sick of the process. I want to step up. I want to make sure that things are done right in my state. What are some things that people can do to sort of step up to the play and to try to change things on their own? Obviously from a legal standpoint, but you know, what are some things that people can do? Sure? Well, once again I mentioned being a poll watcher, but being a whole worker. Um. I talked to several people around the state when I would go visit supervisors and meet citizens and talk to them, and who are skeptical of what happened in twenty had concerns and they actually became a poll worker, meaning they they work for the county during the election cycle. And then they said once they got to see it behind the scenes and saw the safety measures in place, the chain of custody, what the supervisor of elections was doing, it gave build confidence in them. And then they go out and tell their friends, their neighbors, they're the people they go to church with. And it's that kind of that that organic system building up and citizens taking responsibility for their own government because it does it requires active participation. This notion that we can sit back and then be governed by other people and then just complain when things go wrong, Um, that that's not the way this is supposed to work. Yeah, and I really think, you know, obviously there's a lot of concerns about the country as a whole, but it's going to take each of us to you know, step up to the plate to try to redirect this country and to write the ship because the Biden administration is not going to do it. So and apparently in a lot of these states, you know, like Pennsylvania, they're not going to do it either, right, And I'm glad you mentioned that. You know, some people have been calling, well, we needn't we would have federalized or nationalized elections, We need one standard, and I think that's a terrible idea. Um. You know, not much good comes out of Washington, d C. When they get involved, and so as frustrating as it is to watch other states not get it, right. I think that the solution is to put pressure on the state legislatures in those states and the citizens and those states to step up and to say we're going to turn this over to Washington, because I just think that would be a monumental failure. I think that the Founder's got it right when they said it's the state legislatures that are to determine the time, place, and manner of elections. And you mentioned the desire to federalize elections, which has been you know, h R one, it was a top priority for Democrats to try to do that. What would that do to elections? You know, it kind of talked through that a little bit, sort of you know, gaming through what that could do to a country and what that would do to elections. I mean, obviously it federalizes it, but just kind of walk us through what that means, right, I mean you just talk about building to trust and and uh, and there's just there's not much good that comes out of washing in these days and in the in the gridlock um and their their inefficiencies and quite frankly, the privacy issues of having one centralized database with thy million Americans and uh, you know in one place and all that centralized data and information and knowing that that would lead to electing the most powerful person in the world, the president of the United States. I mean, you talk about corruption and distrust. I can't think of any any greater prize for someone to want to infiltrate and to take advantage of that, which is why having it diffused amongst the fifty states, and then even in Florida. I mean, one of our strengths is that even within our laws, all sixty seven counties can do it a little differently. We've got Miami Dade with a million and a half voters, our largest county, and then Liberty County with about forty five hundred. They do things a little differently to match the needs of their counties. But you would have to know how every all sixty seven are doing it to hack the system. If it was federalized, you would have to hack one system to get the keys to the kingdom. And that that's why it's just such a terrible idea, which they did tell us with the federal elections in that they couldn't be hacked because they're decentralized. But then then it but then it was Russia. Still the elections. But anyways, that's another. Yes, that's another. And listen, they're they're bad actors trying to I mean they they're constantly trying to probe our systems. And um that's not just Florida but other states. I mean, so there are there are bad actors internationally. They're trying to do bad things in our elections. UM, but we have great security measures in place here to prevent them. Secretary, is there anything I'm missing from this conversation, any important points that you want the listeners to know that we haven't touched on. I think the key is really is getting involved and participating. The I say this everywhere I I speak. You know, citizenship requires active participation and it's not enough just to to complain or yell at the TV, yell at the radio. They need to uh to volunte volunteer for a campaign, volunteer, furnace we'se office, volunteer, or become a candidate yourself. UM. So we're getting it right in Florida. Look to our model. I'll help anybody anywhere, anytime to to get so they get their elections right. Secretary Bird, I love our state. We live in the freest, the best state in the entire nation, and again we lead on another issue, which is what Florida does. So I appreciate what you do to keep it in election integrity to the state and thank you for the job that you do. Thank you we send for the opportunity to talk to you and your listeners and get get good information out to them. So that was Secretary of State or Bird of Florida. Interesting conversation. I just wanted to you know, look, Florida has been able to do it right, so why can't everyone else? So I wanted to hear or from our top election guy about what we're doing different and why it's different for you guys at home and for myself too. So I hope you enjoyed it. I want to thank you for listening. I want to thank John Cassio, my producer, for putting this show together every Monday and Thursday, but you can listen throughout the week. Please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts, give us a rating as well. I love reading those and saying that, so thanks so much for listening. Until next time.