Speaker 1: So, as I've been talking about on this show and
Speaker 1: a lot of the conversations that are happening in the country,
Speaker 1: is this this new era of politics that we live in.
Speaker 1: You know, we now live in this wild West of
Speaker 1: American politics with the vast introduction of mail and ballots
Speaker 1: to a scale that we hadn't seen in prior elections
Speaker 1: since COVID and beyond, it's completely changed the dynamics of elections.
Speaker 1: I mean, we saw with the twenty two midterms Republicans
Speaker 1: got caught with our pants down because it's no longer
Speaker 1: about earning votes, it's about finding ballots. So the dynamics
Speaker 1: have changed. But even beyond that, you can look at
Speaker 1: places and states that are doing it right. Look at Florida,
Speaker 1: my state. I'm a little bit biased as a Floridian.
Speaker 1: I love this state. I think it's the best state
Speaker 1: in the country. But look at what we were able
Speaker 1: to do. We have a population of two million people
Speaker 1: and we were able to deliver results on election night.
Speaker 1: We had also been just recovering from a category for
Speaker 1: her and we're also facing another incoming hurricane as we
Speaker 1: went into election day. So why was Florida able to
Speaker 1: do it? And make it seem so easy, yet it's
Speaker 1: hard for so many of these other states. And this
Speaker 1: is a really important issue as we move forward, because
Speaker 1: we have to have faith in our elections. We need
Speaker 1: to know that they're being done right. We need to
Speaker 1: know that the people being elected truly are supposed to
Speaker 1: be there. And this is going to get more challenging
Speaker 1: because you look at the use of mail and ballots,
Speaker 1: you look at the use of absentee ballots. It's all
Speaker 1: grown exponentially from in two thousand four to six in
Speaker 1: and we used to be able to call elections on
Speaker 1: election night. That used to be the norm. Look at
Speaker 1: presidential elections of the past. The Associated Press was able
Speaker 1: to call the presidential race for Barack Obama eleven eight
Speaker 1: pm on election night. The AP called the election for
Speaker 1: Donald Trump at to twenty nine a m. The next
Speaker 1: day after the election, but in with mail and ballots,
Speaker 1: the AP didn't call the race until a m Eastern
Speaker 1: November seven, four days after the election. And you look
Speaker 1: at in the mid terms how long it has taken
Speaker 1: to count the votes in some of these states. So
Speaker 1: we're going to talk to the guy who who is
Speaker 1: in charge of Florida's elections about what Florida does to
Speaker 1: get things right. We've recently made changes as a state,
Speaker 1: uh looking at things, strengthening laws on things like drop boxes.
Speaker 1: Now they must be monitored in person by election workers.
Speaker 1: We're going to talk about that. Also, Republicans created a
Speaker 1: new Elections Investigations Unit as well, among the first of
Speaker 1: the kind in its nation, to ensure that people are
Speaker 1: doing the right thing and voting. So we're going to
Speaker 1: talk to the guy who's leading the charge in a
Speaker 1: state that's doing it right. Maybe some of the other
Speaker 1: states will learn, and that conversation is going to be
Speaker 1: a Secretary State, Cord Bird. He was appointed by Governor
Speaker 1: Ronda Stantis as Florida's thirty seven Secretary of State and
Speaker 1: he has spent his life of writing for the Constitution,
Speaker 1: individual liberty, economic freedom, limited government. So he wants to
Speaker 1: make sure that our elections are done right, that that
Speaker 1: people have integrity in our elections. So that's what we're
Speaker 1: going to talk about today and maybe just maybe it'll
Speaker 1: be a blueprint for some of these other states that
Speaker 1: can't seem to figure it out. I'm looking at you, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada.
Speaker 1: So I hope you enjoyed this conversation and we'll all
Speaker 1: learn a lot together. So, Secretary of Cordbora, thank you
Speaker 1: so much for joining the show. I'm a florid iad,
Speaker 1: so it's awesome to have you on. We live in
Speaker 1: the best state, so thanks for taking the time. Thank you, Lisa.
Speaker 1: And yes, you're right, the Sunshine States leading the way
Speaker 1: it really is on everything including elections and and this
Speaker 1: was really underscored on election night when we were able
Speaker 1: to cow our ballots, our votes in a state of
Speaker 1: twenty two million people, when all these other states could not.
Speaker 1: So why is it so easy for Florida and so
Speaker 1: hard for everyone else? Sure, I mean it all begins
Speaker 1: with putting the right to laws in place with the
Speaker 1: legislature and the governor. I mean, going back to two thousand,
Speaker 1: we we learned our lesson and during every cycle we
Speaker 1: continue to improve upon our laws. No matter how well
Speaker 1: we do, we continue to do better. So, for example, um,
Speaker 1: we start canvassing votes, which for for your listeners who
Speaker 1: may not know, that means counting the vote by mail
Speaker 1: and the and the early votes. Twenty two days prior
Speaker 1: to election day, we started the supervisors can start counting
Speaker 1: those votes. So on election night, that very first number
Speaker 1: that comes out within minutes of the polls closing is
Speaker 1: your early and vote by mail. And then we have
Speaker 1: strict standards in place that every for every first forty
Speaker 1: five minutes and then thereafter every thirty minutes, they have
Speaker 1: to report the election day results as the precincts are reporting.
Speaker 1: So we don't give them the lead eight to just say, hey,
Speaker 1: you've gotten multiple days to count. We require them to
Speaker 1: get their their account in that night. Well, and obviously
Speaker 1: you mentioned the Gore versus Bush controversy. I think it
Speaker 1: was almost twenty two years ago. It was twenty two
Speaker 1: years ago, you know, talk about you had mentioned that
Speaker 1: Florida made changes, talk about some of the changes that
Speaker 1: were made after that and and the continued strengthening of
Speaker 1: our laws here in Florida. Sure, so, I was actually
Speaker 1: in Palm Beach County in two thousand. Still have my
Speaker 1: sample butterfly ballot with the hanging Chad, pregnant Chad, the
Speaker 1: whole nine yards. And so after that, because we had
Speaker 1: multiple different voting systems in place in Florida at that time,
Speaker 1: the state decided that at the state level we were
Speaker 1: going to certify any voting system, so I have my
Speaker 1: own team of experts. Before anybody can bring a voting
Speaker 1: system into Florida to be used at the county level,
Speaker 1: we require that to be certified by the state so
Speaker 1: that all of the counties are on the same standards.
Speaker 1: That's one of the important things UM. I ran legislation
Speaker 1: when I was in the State House that says that
Speaker 1: the paper ballot is the best evidence of voter intent.
Speaker 1: So we use paper ballots in Florida. Even though they're
Speaker 1: tabulated by a machine, there's a voter marking a piece
Speaker 1: of paper on their vote. We have strict on vote
Speaker 1: by mail, strict requirements that anybody that's matching the signatures
Speaker 1: that they undergo training. We have UM an open process,
Speaker 1: so whether it's the logic and accuracy testing, so that's
Speaker 1: the before before the election cycle starts. The public can
Speaker 1: come in and look at the machines and and see
Speaker 1: that they're the counsel at zero and that they're working
Speaker 1: properly through the canvassing process. The public can come in
Speaker 1: and watch. On election night, the public can come in
Speaker 1: and watch. So we're always trying to balance access with integrity,
Speaker 1: and that's led to the gold standard that we are today.
Speaker 1: I mean, obviously there's a lot of concerns that mail
Speaker 1: and ballots are more susceptible to fraud. What's our what
Speaker 1: are your thoughts on that? Sure? And there and that
Speaker 1: goes back even to the Baker Carter Report in two
Speaker 1: thousand and five, which was the bipartisan UM commission that
Speaker 1: looked at voting in the United States. And even in
Speaker 1: that report they said that mail in voting is the
Speaker 1: most susceptible to fraud. UM. It is a popular method
Speaker 1: of voting in Florida. So on on this last election,
Speaker 1: we had about a third vote by mail, a third
Speaker 1: early vote in a third on election day. So we
Speaker 1: have as many safeguards in places as I think we can.
Speaker 1: UM on mail in voting. We banned ballot harvesting, So
Speaker 1: what you see in Nevada and California, that's illegal in Florida. UM.
Speaker 1: And then I'm required, my office is required before the
Speaker 1: next legislative session in three to provide a report on
Speaker 1: how to add additional safeguards to vote by mail. UH
Speaker 1: to just once again to increase integrity and security. Well,
Speaker 1: I think that's important to continue learning too, because you know,
Speaker 1: for instance, on mail and ballots. You know, how much
Speaker 1: of an increase have we seen since COVID in terms
Speaker 1: of the use of that. So it seems to make
Speaker 1: sense that as things change, you know, we're adapting and
Speaker 1: making sure that our laws are are meeting you know,
Speaker 1: today's world. Well, you're exactly right, and there are a
Speaker 1: lot of people for example, um and then this past
Speaker 1: race or this past election, and we don't in Florida.
Speaker 1: You have to request a ballot. So unlike other states
Speaker 1: that just mail, go ahead and mail a ballot to
Speaker 1: every single voter on the voter role, we do not
Speaker 1: do that. You have to request it. And it was
Speaker 1: on a two year cycle. So we had many people
Speaker 1: during COVID request one, but then vote by our in
Speaker 1: person this last election, so we had about there have
Speaker 1: been some reports that there's a there's a million mail
Speaker 1: out ballots that weren't returned, and that's true because those people,
Speaker 1: while during COVID they voted by mail, they then reverted
Speaker 1: back to their normal pattern of voting in person. This
Speaker 1: time and last legislative session, we've now gone to the
Speaker 1: request being for every two cycles to every cycle you
Speaker 1: have to request the mail. The mail in ballot. So
Speaker 1: that's an additional safeguard that we've put in place, and
Speaker 1: talk a little bit of out. So there were additional measures,
Speaker 1: uh that were enacted in right, like strengthening things like
Speaker 1: drop boxes having to be monitored by person by an
Speaker 1: election worker. Can you talk about some of those changes
Speaker 1: that were made and then the new Election Integrity Unit? Sure,
Speaker 1: absolutely so we've you and Florida we now call them
Speaker 1: a secure ballot intake stations, but they were formerly known
Speaker 1: as drop boxes. And in the difference being the dropbox
Speaker 1: connotates they can be put on a you know, in
Speaker 1: a corner somewhere and nobody watches it. Where the ballot
Speaker 1: intake stations have to be monitored by an election worker. Um,
Speaker 1: and I went to every all sixty seven counties after
Speaker 1: I was appointed by the governor and visited with every
Speaker 1: single supervisor of elections and looked at their operations. Many
Speaker 1: of them have two people watching because there's a twenty
Speaker 1: dollar fine in place to the supervisor personally if they
Speaker 1: don't if they leave that box unmonitored. Because some people
Speaker 1: are not trustful of the postal service, they like the
Speaker 1: convenience of the box. So once again that's one of
Speaker 1: those measures where we're trying to to balance convenience with integrity,
Speaker 1: and I think we've struck the right balance there. I mean, Secretary,
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna lie. If I was faced with the
Speaker 1: dollar fine, I think I would be running a tight
Speaker 1: ship as well. So exactly a lot of that's a
Speaker 1: lot of cash. I feel like we're in this weird
Speaker 1: places as a country because of obviously mail and ballots
Speaker 1: and absitute ballots growing so substantially since COVID. I mean,
Speaker 1: for instance, I think they've grown from in two thousand
Speaker 1: four to six in the country, you know, naturally, not
Speaker 1: sure what two is going to ultimately look like. Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, what are your recommendations for some of these
Speaker 1: other states, because obviously we don't have results on election
Speaker 1: night and we have to wait, you know, a week
Speaker 1: plus to get results. It really just undermines faith in
Speaker 1: the election process at large. It does, and I think
Speaker 1: that the number one thing they that other states can
Speaker 1: do and should do is start canvassing their vote by
Speaker 1: mail and early votes earlier. So just like Florida follow
Speaker 1: our mom moudele an example. Because the longer this goes
Speaker 1: on that it breeds distrust that allows for people to
Speaker 1: to call into question, uh, the integrity of the election.
Speaker 1: And that really is an easy chain change. And you know,
Speaker 1: people go, well, what do you know what happens to
Speaker 1: somebody releases the those results ahead of time? I mean
Speaker 1: only the s o E should have the supervisor of
Speaker 1: election should have those numbers. And we make it a
Speaker 1: felony in Florida if you are to release those numbers
Speaker 1: ahead of time. And we've never had that happen where
Speaker 1: those numbers got out before before election night. So I
Speaker 1: think that's the number one thing they could do. And
Speaker 1: also we have in Florida our supervisors of Election are
Speaker 1: there there um independently elected constitutional officers, their their professionals.
Speaker 1: They're accountable with the people, where in other states they
Speaker 1: don't have that model, and it's just another job that
Speaker 1: maybe uh you know, the city manager, a county clerk
Speaker 1: has in addition to all of their other duties, is
Speaker 1: every two or four years, they they're in charge of
Speaker 1: an election. That's not their full time job. And I
Speaker 1: think that's another difference that Florida has in place, that
Speaker 1: we have people who their their entire job all year round,
Speaker 1: all their dedicated to doing is making sure that they
Speaker 1: can get election results on Election nine. Yeah, I mean
Speaker 1: that that definitely, you know. And it's crazy too because
Speaker 1: you can go back and look at elections in previous
Speaker 1: election cycles, and you know, Associated Press called presidential race
Speaker 1: for Obama at eleven thirty eight pm on Election night,
Speaker 1: the AP called the election for Donald Trump at or
Speaker 1: to twenty nine uh the day after the election, and
Speaker 1: then in with mail and ballots, the AP didn't call
Speaker 1: the race until eleven six a m. November seven, four
Speaker 1: days after the election. Is it, you know? I mean,
Speaker 1: Florida makes it look so easy in terms. I know
Speaker 1: it's not. I know, you've got a big job and
Speaker 1: you work very hard to make sure the elections are
Speaker 1: efficient and done with integrity. But it is it that
Speaker 1: they just don't care and some of these other states,
Speaker 1: it's it's just hard to imagine that there are easy
Speaker 1: changes that could be made, yet no one seems to
Speaker 1: care to make them. It really starts with the legislatures,
Speaker 1: and that's what I encourage people to contact their state
Speaker 1: representative and state senator because they have the constitutional authority
Speaker 1: to do this. And you know, you mentioned we make
Speaker 1: it look easy, and I'm glad it looks that way
Speaker 1: because we do put a lot of time into it.
Speaker 1: You have remember we had a we had a major
Speaker 1: Category four plus hurricane hit a month prior to the election,
Speaker 1: and we had another one hit the day after the election,
Speaker 1: and we were still able to do this. So I
Speaker 1: think that our our results speak for themselves. And I've
Speaker 1: offered my services to any other state that's interested, more
Speaker 1: than happy to help them walk through Florida's laws and
Speaker 1: what they can do, because, um, it really is unacceptable,
Speaker 1: and especially in these mid term and in presidential races.
Speaker 1: I mean, it matters to Floridians what happens in these
Speaker 1: races and other states, and it undermines our confidence and
Speaker 1: those results when they can't do what we do well.
Speaker 1: And also, like you look at a mid term election
Speaker 1: and if it was this messy, this passimate from a cycle,
Speaker 1: then what is it going to be for the presidential
Speaker 1: election when you have more are people turning out in
Speaker 1: these states? You know, if they if they can't handle
Speaker 1: it for a mid term election, then you know we're
Speaker 1: really going to have confidence eroded in the upcoming presidential election.
Speaker 1: If they don't get their acts together, well that's it.
Speaker 1: And I went and looked at Arizona's laws and they
Speaker 1: do have some changes coming for twenty four. So it
Speaker 1: should improve some in Arizona with some of the additional
Speaker 1: changes they're making. Um, but it's going to take citizens
Speaker 1: in those states where they may not that they still
Speaker 1: have ballot harvesting to adapt until their their legislatures make
Speaker 1: those changes. They're gonna have to adapt to those rules
Speaker 1: and and fight on that that same playing field, even
Speaker 1: if they find that policy personally distasteful. That's what it's
Speaker 1: going to take to to to win these races. Quick
Speaker 1: break more on election integrity and talk about the concerns
Speaker 1: with ballot harvesting and why Florida bands it. You know,
Speaker 1: how can it be exploited? What's the concern there, and
Speaker 1: why don't we have it? It's a great question, and
Speaker 1: I mean when you hear in these other states, I
Speaker 1: mean you can, you can show up to the polling
Speaker 1: place with hundreds of ballots. And the problem with vote
Speaker 1: by mail is that it's it's unsupervised voting, and it's
Speaker 1: it's subject and these are my words, this is coming
Speaker 1: out of the Baker Carter report. This is it's subject
Speaker 1: to intimidation and coercion. UM. Sometimes people are paid for
Speaker 1: their vote by mail ballots, and so it when when
Speaker 1: somebody walks in with hundreds of ballots, or you hear
Speaker 1: these stories of individuals going through apartment complexes and asking
Speaker 1: and knocking on doors and asking them to turn in
Speaker 1: their ballots. UH, that becomes a problem whether or not
Speaker 1: those people are truly UM casting those votes and UH
Speaker 1: and UH and following the right procedure. So we had
Speaker 1: that problem in Florida. We've banned it. We still allow
Speaker 1: for someone if you if you're a family member, UM
Speaker 1: and you live with your grandparents, and you can take
Speaker 1: their ballots to the polling place. So we have a
Speaker 1: very prescribed law on who can be in possession of
Speaker 1: someone else's ballots. But it's very narrow and unlike Nevada
Speaker 1: and California. And I think, you know, I try to
Speaker 1: look at everything secretary from just like a common sense
Speaker 1: standpoint in lens. And if you look at you know,
Speaker 1: ballot harvesting, it's like the likelihood of it touching more hands,
Speaker 1: chain of custody concerns, and then that just introduces obviously
Speaker 1: the process possibility of fraud. When you know you're you're
Speaker 1: giving your ballot to someone you don't really know, you know,
Speaker 1: like who knows what they're going to do with it. Well,
Speaker 1: that's it. Um, you know that's a problem with you
Speaker 1: know that the people have had concerns about the drop
Speaker 1: boxes when there's some of the videos and people walking
Speaker 1: up with with multiple ballots. Um, the governor understands is
Speaker 1: very clear that he wanted ballot harvesting band and some
Speaker 1: of these other rules tightened up, and the legislature responded.
Speaker 1: And that's why, you know where the gold standard. Actually
Speaker 1: think this is like an incredibly important issue too, because
Speaker 1: I mean, you look at just the country as a whole.
Speaker 1: You know, there's a loss of faith in every institution,
Speaker 1: from you know, the media to our government to you know,
Speaker 1: essentially everything. And so for people to be able to
Speaker 1: trust that their vote counted, that the elections were done
Speaker 1: with integrity, that the people who are elected to the
Speaker 1: people that should be elected, I think it's paramount to
Speaker 1: you know, to having a thriving republic. It is, and
Speaker 1: you're exactly right, and I'm glad you called it a
Speaker 1: republic because that's what it is, a republic that uses
Speaker 1: democratic processes to elect our representatives, and if we lose
Speaker 1: faith in that institution, then I don't know that any
Speaker 1: of the others matter. So we have to get this right.
Speaker 1: And the encouraging thing is and this is what I
Speaker 1: would tell people in other states. We have so many
Speaker 1: Floridians who have become involved in the process. And I
Speaker 1: started uh over twenty five years ago as a poll watcher.
Speaker 1: UH And so it takes citizens becoming involved and active
Speaker 1: in the process, and that helps because the more people
Speaker 1: we have watching, the more people we have reporting. And
Speaker 1: we do have I I mean I was getting text
Speaker 1: messages all day long from people that would see things
Speaker 1: or have concerns, and we would look into it. I
Speaker 1: would call a supervisor, UH, my team would call out.
Speaker 1: And that's what it's going to to to rebuild that trust. UM.
Speaker 1: But I think Florida has said the example, and we
Speaker 1: can't get back to an election system that that every
Speaker 1: American can trust. I'm glad you mentioned that because I
Speaker 1: do think that you know, a lot of times we
Speaker 1: look to like the federal government, or we look to
Speaker 1: or elected officials, when a lot of times, you know,
Speaker 1: we can we need to take steps ourselves to try
Speaker 1: to to change things from the bottom up. So I
Speaker 1: like the fact you mentioned. You know, you can sign
Speaker 1: up to be a poll watcher, you can get involved
Speaker 1: to ensure that there's integrity in your elections. You know,
Speaker 1: talk about some of those steps that citizens can take
Speaker 1: if they're like, you know what, I'm sick of the process.
Speaker 1: I want to step up. I want to make sure
Speaker 1: that things are done right in my state. What are
Speaker 1: some things that people can do to sort of step
Speaker 1: up to the play and to try to change things
Speaker 1: on their own? Obviously from a legal standpoint, but you know,
Speaker 1: what are some things that people can do? Sure? Well,
Speaker 1: once again I mentioned being a poll watcher, but being
Speaker 1: a whole worker. Um. I talked to several people around
Speaker 1: the state when I would go visit supervisors and meet
Speaker 1: citizens and talk to them, and who are skeptical of
Speaker 1: what happened in twenty had concerns and they actually became
Speaker 1: a poll worker, meaning they they work for the county
Speaker 1: during the election cycle. And then they said once they
Speaker 1: got to see it behind the scenes and saw the
Speaker 1: safety measures in place, the chain of custody, what the
Speaker 1: supervisor of elections was doing, it gave build confidence in them.
Speaker 1: And then they go out and tell their friends, their neighbors,
Speaker 1: they're the people they go to church with. And it's
Speaker 1: that kind of that that organic system building up and
Speaker 1: citizens taking responsibility for their own government because it does
Speaker 1: it requires active participation. This notion that we can sit
Speaker 1: back and then be governed by other people and then
Speaker 1: just complain when things go wrong, Um, that that's not
Speaker 1: the way this is supposed to work. Yeah, and I
Speaker 1: really think, you know, obviously there's a lot of concerns
Speaker 1: about the country as a whole, but it's going to
Speaker 1: take each of us to you know, step up to
Speaker 1: the plate to try to redirect this country and to
Speaker 1: write the ship because the Biden administration is not going
Speaker 1: to do it. So and apparently in a lot of
Speaker 1: these states, you know, like Pennsylvania, they're not going to
Speaker 1: do it either, right, And I'm glad you mentioned that.
Speaker 1: You know, some people have been calling, well, we needn't
Speaker 1: we would have federalized or nationalized elections, We need one standard,
Speaker 1: and I think that's a terrible idea. Um. You know,
Speaker 1: not much good comes out of Washington, d C. When
Speaker 1: they get involved, and so as frustrating as it is
Speaker 1: to watch other states not get it, right. I think
Speaker 1: that the solution is to put pressure on the state
Speaker 1: legislatures in those states and the citizens and those states
Speaker 1: to step up and to say we're going to turn
Speaker 1: this over to Washington, because I just think that would
Speaker 1: be a monumental failure. I think that the Founder's got
Speaker 1: it right when they said it's the state legislatures that
Speaker 1: are to determine the time, place, and manner of elections.
Speaker 1: And you mentioned the desire to federalize elections, which has
Speaker 1: been you know, h R one, it was a top
Speaker 1: priority for Democrats to try to do that. What would
Speaker 1: that do to elections? You know, it kind of talked
Speaker 1: through that a little bit, sort of you know, gaming
Speaker 1: through what that could do to a country and what
Speaker 1: that would do to elections. I mean, obviously it federalizes it,
Speaker 1: but just kind of walk us through what that means, right,
Speaker 1: I mean you just talk about building to trust and
Speaker 1: and uh, and there's just there's not much good that
Speaker 1: comes out of washing in these days and in the
Speaker 1: in the gridlock um and their their inefficiencies and quite frankly,
Speaker 1: the privacy issues of having one centralized database with thy
Speaker 1: million Americans and uh, you know in one place and
Speaker 1: all that centralized data and information and knowing that that
Speaker 1: would lead to electing the most powerful person in the world,
Speaker 1: the president of the United States. I mean, you talk
Speaker 1: about corruption and distrust. I can't think of any any
Speaker 1: greater prize for someone to want to infiltrate and to
Speaker 1: take advantage of that, which is why having it diffused
Speaker 1: amongst the fifty states, and then even in Florida. I mean,
Speaker 1: one of our strengths is that even within our laws,
Speaker 1: all sixty seven counties can do it a little differently.
Speaker 1: We've got Miami Dade with a million and a half voters,
Speaker 1: our largest county, and then Liberty County with about forty
Speaker 1: five hundred. They do things a little differently to match
Speaker 1: the needs of their counties. But you would have to
Speaker 1: know how every all sixty seven are doing it to
Speaker 1: hack the system. If it was federalized, you would have
Speaker 1: to hack one system to get the keys to the kingdom.
Speaker 1: And that that's why it's just such a terrible idea,
Speaker 1: which they did tell us with the federal elections in
Speaker 1: that they couldn't be hacked because they're decentralized. But then
Speaker 1: then it but then it was Russia. Still the elections.
Speaker 1: But anyways, that's another. Yes, that's another. And listen, they're
Speaker 1: they're bad actors trying to I mean they they're constantly
Speaker 1: trying to probe our systems. And um that's not just
Speaker 1: Florida but other states. I mean, so there are there
Speaker 1: are bad actors internationally. They're trying to do bad things
Speaker 1: in our elections. UM, but we have great security measures
Speaker 1: in place here to prevent them. Secretary, is there anything
Speaker 1: I'm missing from this conversation, any important points that you
Speaker 1: want the listeners to know that we haven't touched on.
Speaker 1: I think the key is really is getting involved and participating.
Speaker 1: The I say this everywhere I I speak. You know,
Speaker 1: citizenship requires active participation and it's not enough just to
Speaker 1: to complain or yell at the TV, yell at the radio.
Speaker 1: They need to uh to volunte volunteer for a campaign, volunteer,
Speaker 1: furnace we'se office, volunteer, or become a candidate yourself. UM.
Speaker 1: So we're getting it right in Florida. Look to our model.
Speaker 1: I'll help anybody anywhere, anytime to to get so they
Speaker 1: get their elections right. Secretary Bird, I love our state.
Speaker 1: We live in the freest, the best state in the
Speaker 1: entire nation, and again we lead on another issue, which
Speaker 1: is what Florida does. So I appreciate what you do
Speaker 1: to keep it in election integrity to the state and
Speaker 1: thank you for the job that you do. Thank you
Speaker 1: we send for the opportunity to talk to you and
Speaker 1: your listeners and get get good information out to them.
Speaker 1: So that was Secretary of State or Bird of Florida.
Speaker 1: Interesting conversation. I just wanted to you know, look, Florida
Speaker 1: has been able to do it right, so why can't
Speaker 1: everyone else? So I wanted to hear or from our
Speaker 1: top election guy about what we're doing different and why
Speaker 1: it's different for you guys at home and for myself too.
Speaker 1: So I hope you enjoyed it. I want to thank
Speaker 1: you for listening. I want to thank John Cassio, my producer,
Speaker 1: for putting this show together every Monday and Thursday, but
Speaker 1: you can listen throughout the week. Please leave us a
Speaker 1: review on Apple Podcasts, give us a rating as well.
Speaker 1: I love reading those and saying that, so thanks so
Speaker 1: much for listening. Until next time.