TALLAHASSEE, Fla. A Tallahassee research organization called Wednesday for universal mail-in voting in Florida, a day after President Donald Trump backed the states current system for casting ballots by mail. Ben Wilcox, research director for Integrity Florida, said he anticipates Republican legislative leaders might be more open to the proposals after the 2020 elections, as some Western states are using universal voting and others are using it on local levels. Following a mid-day tweet on the topic, Trump in a news conference pointed to Republican leadership in Florida under Gov. Democrats accounted for 17,582 of the early voting ballots, while Republicans made up 17,430. Florida in 2002 first authorized no-excuse absentee voting, which does not require voters to declare reasons to receive ballots.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida officials could soon finalize a deal to buy a $15.5 million business jet to fly Gov. Senator, got rid of state planes and used his own private jet to travel the state. Scott ordered two state planes sold days after he was sworn in. So, not for personal business, not for campaign business, but for public business, legitimate public business, Wilcox said. In addition to an initial payment of $1.3 million for the plane, the state has also budgeted $3.8 million to operate it.