ORANGE COUNTY – With less than a month until early voting begins in Orange County, Supervisor of Elections Glen Gilzean met with more than a dozen police chiefs and other members of law enforcement to discuss plans to safeguard the upcoming elections.
Led by UCF Police Chief Carl Metzger, representatives from local and federal agencies discussed strengthening partnerships to protect voters and ballots during the 2024 election cycle.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss election security measures covering both physical security as well as cybersecurity.
“Our friends in law enforcement play a critical role in securing our elections,” said Orange County Supervisor of Elections Glen Gilzean. “From protecting our polling places to escorting ballots, we could not conduct an election if it weren’t for the hard work of Central Florida’s police officers and deputies.”
The meeting comes as this year for the first time, the Orange County Supervisor of Elections Office is adding additional security to its more than two dozen Supervised Voting sites in Orange County.
Florida law (101.655) mandates supervised voting for “absent electors residing in any assisted living facility or nursing home facility.” In Orange County, at least 30 facilities have registered for this service in August and November.
This year the Orange County Supervisor of Elections will utilize off-duty Orange County Deputies and Orlando Police Officers at the facilities. The deputies and officers will escort the completed ballots to the Supervisor of Elections Office.
