Florida 2024: Vote Counting and Election Certification Processes

Florida’s elections are designed to be administered in a secure, methodical, and structured manner. There are clear statutes and regulations governing the administration of elections in Florida, and the Secretary of State through the Department of State issues additional guidance to ensure election laws are uniformly applied throughout the state. There is also an Elections Canvassing Commission – composed of the Governor and several members of the Governor’s cabinet which is responsible for the state canvass and certification.

At the county level, day-to-day election administration is primarily overseen by the Supervisor of Elections with the County Canvassing Board – which typically includes the Supervisor of Elections – providing oversight and final decision-making authority concerning most counting, canvassing, and certification activities.

Learn more about the processes and personnel involved in the counting and certification processes. Also see a timeline of counting and certification processes, which you can also subscribe to as a Google Calendar.

Given the strength of Florida’s election procedures, the greatest threat facing Florida’s election is from those bad actors who seek to sow chaos and exploit uncertainty for their own means.

Informing Democracy reviewed members of Florida’s Supervisors of Elections, County Canvassing Board members, and State Attorneys to identify officials who could pose a threat to free and fair elections. Of 234 officials reviewed, 16 had concerning findings in their background — about 7 percent. National or in-state election deniers did not target Florida following the 2020 elections, which likely contributes to the relatively low concerning findings in the state. 

See a summary and analysis of these findings, as well as the Florida Election Official Research Database. 

The potential vulnerabilities we’ll be monitoring during this election include: 

• Election Denial: Our research identified four County Canvassing Board members, across four counties, who publicly questioned the results of the 2020 election or perpetuated claims of widespread fraud throughout our electoral system.

• Election Skepticism: An additional six County Canvassing Board members expressed skepticism regarding election outcomes or election processes without cause, while not outright denying the results of the 2020 election.

• Refusal to Certify: While there are no past incidences of current members County Canvassing Boards refusing to certify, given the increasing use of this tactic among election deniers and anti-democracy actors across the country, it is worth continuing to monitor for the potential opposition to certification, particularly in counties with active election deniers and those expressing election skepticism. 

• Increased Number of Provisional Ballots: This year’s election will be the first presidential election since Florida enacted legislation that expanded both the scope and depth of poll observer access. Therefore, we have some concerns that the utilization of this new access may result in an increase in challenges both at polling locations and to vote-by-mail ballots, increasing the use of provisional ballots.

See a full breakdown of these potential vulnerabilities in our report.