Escambia County has lost over 7% of its voters, 16,224 people, over the past four years, thanks to laws passed by the Republican-controlled legislature since Joe Biden won the presidential election.
Democrats have lost 17% of their registered voters, while Republicans have only seen a 3% decrease between May 29, 2020, and June 3, 2024. No Party Affiliation dropped 6%, and other parties nearly doubled, up 92%.
Under Florida, Supervisors of Election must conduct a general registration list maintenance program to protect the integrity of the electoral process by ensuring the maintenance of accurate and current voter registration records in the statewide voter registration system.
The law states, “A registration list maintenance program must be conducted by each supervisor, at a minimum, once each year, beginning no later than April 1, and must be completed at least 90 days before the date of any federal election.”
In 2023, the Florida Legislature enacted new laws requiring supervisors to send notices to voters who have not participated in the last two general elections. If those voters do not respond, they get moved to the inactive list.
Escambia Election Supervisor Robert Bender, whom Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed in January, said the list maintenance for 2024 was completed on May 22. “We compare the national change of address requests to our database, and then we start contacting those voters to see if they’re still in the area or where they are.”
Bender said the voters who have been purged from the tax rolls can still vote if they appear at the polls.
The deadline to register to vote or change your party affiliation for the August primary is July 22. The last day for local candidates to qualify to run is noon on Friday, July 14. For more information, visit escambiavotes.gov.
| 5/29/20 | 6/3/24 | +/- | Percent | |
| Dem | 75,156 | 62,118 | (13,038) | -17.3% |
| Rep | 98,693 | 95,529 | (3,164) | -3.2% |
| NPA | 45,128 | 42,367 | (2,761) | -6.1% |
| Other | 2,963 | 5,702 | 2,739 | 92.4% |
| Total | 221,940 | 205,716 | (16,224) | -7.3% |
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