Don’t call it an absentee ballot.
Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill (SB 112) that changes the phrase absentee ballot to vote-by-mail ballot in state law. The change comes as Florida has seen an increase in the number of people early by mail.
Many states, including Florida, have changed their state laws over the years to allow more voters to cast absentee ballots. Those changes include removing reasons voters have to give in order to get a vote by mail ballot.
As of Thursday morning, more than 1.03 million voters have cast absentee ballots in advance of the March 15 election.
The law goes into effect July 1, just in time for the August primary.
