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From the WPBF 25 First Warning Weather Center, I'm Chief Certified Meteorologist Chris Martinez with South Florida Certified Most Accurate Forecast. As we head into the overnight flood watch in effect, especially as we head into the weekend, Saturday, we'll talk about showers and storms really increasing into the afternoon as tropical moisture pours in. We'll start things into the lower 80s, but we'll only see temperatures in the upper 80s with some clouds, some breezy conditions, and again, those showers and storms in the afternoon.  Welcome back to the Florida Roundtable. I'm Bill Mick, along with Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd. Mr. Secretary, appreciate you taking the time. It's good to have you along this weekend. Great to be back. Let's talk real quickly about the wrap-up of an election. There is testing of the election tabulation equipment, logic and accuracy testing in every county. And I guess you guys, you maintain those records. Those come into you after the fact. Let's talk about your confidence level and how Florida conducts these elections right now.  Right. Great question. And Florida has 24, 25 years of working on this and getting it right to where we are the best in the country. Do not take me back to hanging chads. Right. So you nailed it. So we've had a lot of time to get this right. And I do have tremendous confidence. And one of the things that we do in Florida that I wish other states would adopt is  is that no voting system, meaning something that accepts a ballot, can be used by a county unless it's first certified by the state. So we have a team of people that'll break the machines down, try to break them, try to mess with them, try to make them operate improperly. So before any supervisor can use a system, it's first certified by the state. And then you mentioned logic and accuracy testing. That's a public event where the supervisors can,  take a random sampling of the machines, run sample ballots through them, ensure that the ballots that go through or the ballots that are the results that are tabulated, that's open to the public. And then once again, at the end of the day, we have the paper ballot and our state law says that the paper ballot is the best evidence of the voter's intent. So if we do have one of those close elections and we need to go to the tape, so to speak, we have those paper ballots. And so that's why I'm confident in the outcomes.  In Brevard County and other counties around the state, I'm not sure if it's every county, we have this clear audit system that after the ballots are run through the actual tabulation equipment, this is a totally separate, not online system at all, not connected to any of the voting mechanism. But it basically, they run the ballots through that and verify by a separate system that everything was right.  No, you're absolutely right. It's a great system. So we have about 30 of the counties that are using that system now. We're proposing that, hoping that the legislature will fund a grant to allow all 67 counties to be able to utilize this system. And as you mentioned, it's completely separate. So it's a check on the tabulators. So we have the logic and accuracy testing. We go through that with the machines. Then we have clear audit, which is a 100% audit of the race system.  We know after 2020, you know, auditing of the elections was a big issue. Now we would have with this system. So for Brevard County, you have a 100% audit in place, which once again should give confidence to the voters that the tabulations are correct.  Most certainly. One of the complaints we hear around the country, I don't know how much Florida is impacted by this, but the threat of, if not actual, non-citizen voting. Some places around the country allow non-citizens to vote in local elections and the like. Is that becoming an issue? Is that an issue that you hear about a lot?  I do. I mean, I would say that nationwide, it is the number one election integrity topic currently out there. And here's the challenge. And I was back in May, I testified before a congressional committee about non-citizen voting. And the real issue we have is with federal law that prevents states from doing certain list maintenance activities and getting the information we need on non-citizens before they're added to the voter roll. So for example,  U.S. Constitution says the federal government has complete authority over who becomes a naturalized citizen. We had 94,000 Floridians become naturalized or non-citizens become naturalized in Florida just in 2023 alone. Wow. That's a big number. And so what happens because of federal law, if the person fills out the voter application, voter registration form,  If they perjure themselves and say they're a U.S. citizen and turn it in, we have to do the verification on the back end. We're doing that work every single day. We're getting information from a variety of places. But before we remove someone from the voter rolls, we've got to make sure we have the right John Smith.  And we don't what we don't want to do is remove someone who is a US citizen who has become naturalized. And sometimes that happens. And I'm happy to say that Congress listened to us. One of my proposals actually made it into the bill. It was ended up being amended. That would require the federal government to send to the states every month a list of who becomes a naturalized citizen.  And then we can take that list and then run that against our voter registration database. Unfortunately, it's stalled in the U.S. Senate, and you can imagine the reasons why. But the good news is that Congress is listening. They know it's a problem, and we're going to continue doing everything legally that we can do.  to remove non-citizens from the voter rolls because every non-citizen that votes cancels out the vote of a citizen. So this is really important, but we need the help of the feds. And I'm happy to say that they are finally paying attention. I'm glad to hear that they are listening to people like you that are in a position of managing these elections across the state and across the country and actually talk to the people on the ground.  Had a situation a few years ago where our former supervisor of elections was being called to Tallahassee to testify to a Senate or House committee regarding election law. And they take the six hour drive and they're told to get one minute to speak. You're not listening to the people if you don't give them time to tell you what's going on. I would like to see our legislature get the same give the same reception to supervisors that you got when you went to Washington.  Yeah, and I will say they do ask questions. I served with many of them. They contact me all the time asking questions. What can they do to improve? I mean, they wanna get it right. They gotta get elected. They're gonna be on the ballot again, yeah. They are on the ballot. Yeah, all of them, they're all up this cycle. So yeah, I know that sometimes it's frustrating for people when they come to a committee with limited time. They don't get a full hearing.  But I know the supervisors are here during the legislative session. They're making the rounds, going and talking to legislators. And we work hard to try to be on the same page and get it right to make sure that we have the best election code in the country. You mentioned that federal cooperation you're looking for. Another area where I would think would be emphasized is a good system for ensuring that  The people who snowboard or people who live here part of the year and split residency, whatever it may be, aren't voting in multiple states in a federal election. That seems pretty hard to track down right now. And in some cases I'm aware of, the local prosecutors won't handle an election fraud case as if it's something serious when you've got someone who's voted in, say, New Mexico and Florida.  Right. Well, that's why the legislature and the governor's leadership a few years ago created the Office of Election Crimes and Security, which is within the Department of State, something that I oversee. And so we have a dedicated unit that is looking at these double voters in multiple states. We've had several prosecutions.  Just a few weeks ago, two Florida appellate courts confirmed that the statewide prosecutor has jurisdiction all over the state. So if we have a local prosecutor who's maybe not interested or doesn't care about prosecuting these cases, the statewide prosecutor can.  So we take our election law seriously in Florida. We have a unit dedicated to enforcing them in partnership with the FDLE. So once again, those are some of the things that we're doing when it's not, quote unquote, election season that we're still doing.  constantly talking to other states, looking at the voter rolls, comparing and seeing when someone moves out of the state of Florida and we know we get information that they're a registered voter and in the other state we're contacting that state saying, hey, did you know  that person has moved to your state or vice versa. Somebody moves into the state and they say, hey, I came from New York and we're contacting them saying, you know, hey, this person is now here. They've registered to vote. You can remove them off of your role. So those are some of the things that we do in the off season. And even during the season of elections is getting that, doing that voter list maintenance activity.  Forgive me for a political question during an elections administration session here, but would a national voter registration make sense in that regard?  You know, the question then becomes who houses the information? And I would not be confident in the federal government housing that database. Can understand that, sure. So why it seems your logic is not incorrect. I would be very hesitant to put all of that database of all 50 states with all of the registered voters in the hands of DC. For all of our  The warps that our system has in 50 different jurisdictions with different philosophies on elections and why that can cause frustrations. I think that the potential evil that could come from having it all in one place is outweighed by  you know, sometimes what we see happen in other states. Sure. How difficult is it to run down that person who's double voted in a couple of states? I know the ERIC system is no longer in play for the state of Florida that lets you validate with some states instantly. So that sounds like investigation time there. It does. And we're entering into memorandum of understanding with other states to help us do that. I mean, let's, you know,  To be fair, you know, Eric, all 50 states weren't in Eric. So you still only had a certain segment of the country that was in it. California and New York, two of the four largest states were not in Eric. So it was an imperfect system. But we have the states that are cooperative with with us. And most of your most of the people that are going between states tend to be your neighboring states.  states, so Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama. I've got to end it there for the moment. We'll be back with Secretary of State Court Byrd on the Florida Roundtable.  Looking for cheap flights or cheap tickets? Call the low-cost airline Travel Hotline now for prices so low we can't publish them anywhere. 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So my first suggestion is that everybody win big. That's what I tell all candidates. And if you can win big, but sometimes that doesn't happen. I was part of the I was one of the lawyers during the recount in 2018 in Duval County. But under state law, if you are within one half of one percent.  automatically triggers a machine recount. So they recount the same ballots and see if we get the same number. If then after that machine recount, it's within a quarter percent, then there is a hand recount of over and under votes.  So does that make sense? So if the machines, if somebody, would they then look at over and under? The canvassing board looks at those and then there's a hand recount of those to see if there's any further discrepancy. So overvotes being too many names marked on that particular race in a ballot, undervotes meaning none were marked in that race.  Correct. Correct. And you'd be amazed at the different ways in which voters mark ballots. Another one of my admonitions is please fill in the ovals correctly. No stray marks. Don't circle parties because that leads to potentially recounts where then you have a canvassing board trying to  divine the voter intent. While we're there, let's talk about voters in the polling place, either early voting or on election day. They make a mistake marking their ballot. There are ways to correct it on that ballot, but they can also turn that ballot in and get a second one once that first one's destroyed. Right. You get two mulligans. So you get your first ballot and you get up to two more ballots if you make a mistake. After that, then you're out of luck. So  Yeah, and those ballots are destroyed. If you make a mistake, you take that up to the clerk. The clerk will spoil what we call spoil the ballot, meaning destroy it. We have procedures in place for every polling place. So that's done consistently throughout the state. It's done in front of the voter. So the mistaken or spoiled ballot is destroyed and then made where it can't be counted. And then they're given an alternate, a replacement ballot.  outstanding now what what if a candidate for some reason has a challenge in an election do they have the ability to request or demand in any case a recount only if it falls within those those mandatory um you know the mandatory recount numbers i mean the candidate does not have um  They don't have the right to demand a recount. Okay, so if they allege some nefarious behavior by an opponent or maybe a mistake by a supervisor of elections office somewhere, that's lawsuit territory at that point? Correct. That would then be, their recourse would then be to the courts. You've been in some of those battles, at least back in, what, 2000, as I recall?  Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I was a young lawyer back in 2000 in Palm Beach County. So yeah, tangentially involved in that and drafting motions and all that good stuff. You've got two advocating sides at that point, both of them trying to present their best argument. How much of those end up being focused in actual law or opinion as to why my guy should win?  Yeah, I mean, that's certainly a lot of it. And when I give talks around the state, if you're trying to litigate your way to victory, that's usually a losing proposition. The courts are very reluctant to change the outcome or the results of an election, and I think rightfully so. We don't want that.  Take the U.S. Supreme Court, for example, you don't want non-elected or unelected lawyers and rogues deciding who our president's going to be typically. It's not a good thing for a republic. So the courts are reluctant to get involved, but there is that recourse. And if there's evidence that shows that there was malfeasance or the election code wasn't followed properly, then they would have recourse.  I know that you're able to meet on occasion with the Association of Supervisors of Elections as they come together at various times. Any concerns been raised by them as we come into this election? Well, we're in this election season.  Right. Only the ones I think that we've discussed, making sure that voters are fully informed, knowing where their polling place is, if they want to vote by mail ballot, that they put their request in, that they have the updated signature on file. So one, just making sure that voters have good information. Obviously,  In the event that we have a storm or a weather event that interferes with voters' ability to vote, that we have contingency plans in place. But I think for the most part, we have a wonderful working relationship with the supervisors. They're all elected by the people in their county, so they're accountable. They care about this. They live in those communities. They want this system to work right. And I think they, for the most part, all do a really, really good job.  Secretary of State Cord Byrd is with us here on the Florida Roundtable. One more segment to go. We'll wrap it up with him talking education and strategy as this election is ongoing across the state of Florida. Stay with us.  How would you like to get a free smartphone? If you own a smartphone, listen to this incredible offer that's almost too good to be true. Right now, you can switch your plan and get service with us for as little as $2 a day, guaranteed for life. Plus, get a free smartphone every year. Call the free smartphone hotline now and we'll move your number from your existing service. Think of your savings. So don't wait. Switch your plan, save money, plus get a free smartphone every year.  Call the free smartphone hotline right now. We guarantee you're going to love our service. If you don't like what we say, you can hang up on us, but you won't. 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Are they still giving out complimentary bottles for people to try for themselves? Yeah.  You just need to send them a text. Text LION to 42424 right now for your complimentary bottle of Nugenics Total T, the number one selling testosterone booster at GNC. Plus, text now and we'll include a bottle of Nugenics Thermo, our most powerful fat incinerator ever, to help you get back into shape fast, absolutely free. Text LION to 42424. That's LION to 42424.  I'm Bill Mick with Secretary of State Cord Bird as we wrap up talking the Florida primary election that is currently underway. And Mr. Secretary, again, thank you for taking the time. I think it's invaluable information you provide to the voters of Florida as we get to have these conversations. We started with education.  I think it's important that voters know and understand how these mechanisms work, what's required of them. As you mentioned earlier, how you fill out a ballot is very basic, but so many people don't do it well. What's required of candidates or campaign operatives, campaign managers and the like? There's a world of education to be had. And the more educated you are on these election issues, the better your campaign or your candidate or your vote's going to be in play.  Well, you're exactly right. And just want everyone listening to know we have a wealth of information on our on our state website, the Division of Elections website. I mean, from campaign finance to to candidate and campaign campaign.  handbook on how to file your paperwork correctly, how to campaign, the do's and don'ts. I mean, there's just a ton of information that we have out there. I know that supervisors do. Over the summer, I traveled around the state and we're doing a video series called How Your Ballot Becomes a Vote.  where we're giving the behind the scenes. So it's me and the supervisors together, where we're demystifying, giving you the behind the curtain scene of how the operations run so that people have confidence that, okay, now I understand how vote by mail is processed. Okay, now I understand how election day is handled or how the canvassing board works. Because the more  Good information we can put in the hands of voters, the more confidence people have, because that's the one thing that kind of keeps me up at night is people losing faith in the system. So if we lose that, then our republic can't function. So you are the guy behind the curtain in Oz. We know who that is now.  Well, yeah, yeah. A funny situation, which is not really funny, occurred in Lake County as qualifying happened. And you had a sitting official who believed he would have no opposition going in at close to the last minute.  Decided to run as a write-in candidate, save his donors the filing fee, that type of thing. Lo and behold, he filed, and right behind him, somebody else filed in his party. Now he's got to run a write-in campaign to make it tough. Again, knowing the law and understanding it and strategies are two different things.  Oh, they are. I mean, they definitely are. And some people are really good at running campaigns. But if you don't get the nuts and bolts of the law correct and with a write-in, and this is what people need to know, you've got to write the person's name in. I mean, you have to write in means just that. It's not just circling the writing and filling in the write-in bubble. You've got to fill in the bubble and write the name in. That's a big education process in front of that candidate then. It is. It is very big. Yep.  That is amazing. We are very short on time. What's the word that you'd like to leave with this audience as we continue through this primary election? Oh, confidence and trust. I want people to have confidence when they go to the polls and then trust in the results. And we work hard every day to make sure that people have those two things, confidence and trust, that when they get their results on election night, that the person who got the most votes is the one who won.  Secretary of State Cord Bird, you certainly inspire that. And I appreciate the relationship you have with our supervisors of elections. Not always been the case with secretaries of state and the supervisors. You're an advocate for them. And I know that's appreciated by them. And as a voter, it's appreciated by me. So thank you very much. And thanks for joining us today on the Florida Roundtable.  Thank you, Bill. Really appreciate the time. Always a pleasure to have you with us. I look forward to doing it again. Maybe general election time or maybe after. We'll see what's going on there. Oh, yeah. Very good. And thank you for joining us on the Florida Roundtable. I'm Bill Mick. Catch the podcasts at BillMick.com. And we'll see you next week right here on the Florida News Network.  You've been listening to the Florida Roundtable with Bill Megg, a news and public affairs presentation of the Florida News Network. The views and opinions expressed during this program are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect the views of this station management, owners, or sponsors. For questions or concerns, contact Florida Roundtable at FNN.  WFTL West Palm Beach. WRMF HD2 Palm Beach. Get full rigor. The Florida True Crime Podcast on the all-new 850 app. Download it from your app store today.  from abc news i'm brian clark just over a week to the start of the democratic national convention but it could be any day when vice president kamala harris chooses her running mate harris who secured enough votes to become the democratic presidential nominee is meeting with candidates including popular first-term pennsylvania governor josh shapiro a former prosecutor arizona senator and retired astronaut mark kelly minnesota governor tim walls and kentucky governor andy beshear  Former Attorney General Eric Holder's law firm conducting the high stakes vetting process. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump was campaigning in Georgia. Thank you to Atlanta. I'm thrilled to be back in the great state of Georgia. I love Georgia.  But he spent part of his time criticizing the state's Republican governor, Brian Kemp, blaming him for his 2020 loss to President Biden and the criminal case brought by the Fulton County District Attorney. There's a state of emergency in Florida as Debbie, now a tropical storm, is expected to be the first named storm to  expected around the Big Bend area. In Jacksonville Saturday, Gavin Shelton was removing potentially hazardous trees. It can cost you your house. A lot of times you'll see these trees completely splitting houses in half.  The Middle East region on edge as Iran is expected to retaliate after recent Israeli strikes. ABC's Matt Rivers has the latest from Tel Aviv. Iran's retaliation for a Hamas leader's assassination earlier this week expected any time now as the U.S. urging Americans here in Israel to stay close by to safe rooms and urging any Americans in nearby Lebanon to either get out now or be prepared to shelter in place for, quote, an extended period of time.  The U.S. and other countries calling for a peaceful transfer of power in Venezuela after announcing that they're recognizing the opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner in last weekend's election.