Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd fielded questions from the 50 business owners and executives attending a JAX Chamber Beaches Division lunch June 8 at the Casa Marina Hotel and Restaurant in Jacksonville Beach.
Byrd, who holds the state cabinet position largely responsible for business regulations and voting regulations among other duties, pivoted between business discussion and questions about the pending 2024 presidential election.
“We try to make starting a business in Florida as easy, as efficient and as friendly as possible,” said Byrd, a Neptune Beach resident.
“We have 3.4 million businesses registered right now in the state of Florida, which is tremendous. Some weeks, we’ll do 3,000 startups a week,” he said.
Tom Patton, chair of the JAX Chamber Beaches Division, said Byrd was a good fit for the event that featured an audience of coastal business community interests.
“The secretary of state has a lot to do with business regulations and such. That’s why we thought it would be a good idea for him to come speak to us. Just to talk about how businesses interact with the state,” Patton said.
Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Byrd, a former member of the Florida House of Representatives, as secretary of state in May 2022.
The audience was curious about Byrd’s role as the state’s chief steward of elections. He acknowledged all eyes will be on Florida in what is anticipated to be a contentious presidential vote in 2024.
“When I say that all eyes of the world are on Florida for 2024, I’m not joking. But there’s no pressure,” he said, prompting laughter from the crowd.
Byrd stressed measures are being put in place so the election will be run professionally and fairly.
“We have 67 great supervisors of elections that are independently elected constitutional officers,” he said of those serving the state’s 67 counties.
“They get up every day, 24/7/365, to ensure that we have safe, fair elections. I can tell you that we are the gold standard nationally,” Byrd said.
Much of the concern over the pending election will focus on voting machines. Byrd was asked if he could assure Florida voters the machines will be secure.
“Are the machines safe? I can tell you in Florida, and I’m only talking about Florida, state law requires … before any voting system can be purchased by a supervisor of elections, it must first be certified by the Department of State,” Byrd said.
“I have a team of technicians who tear the machines down. They go through them, they look at the software, line by line, look at the code. Before we put it into the stream for voters to go use, we certify that we have tested that machine for security,” he said, adding the machines are not connected to the internet and are self-contained.
The state’s merits Byrd touted come as DeSantis is locking horns with The Disney Co., Florida’s largest employer. Lawsuits have been exchanged with the amusement and entertainment giant after Disney officials criticized the governor about LGBTQ measures known as the Florida Parental Rights in Education act, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” act, and policies designed to restrict discussion of those issues in public schools.
Asked how he reconciles his claims that Florida is business friendly while the governor challenges the state’s largest employer and one of the biggest tourist attractions, he responded:
“We, at the Department of State, get sued a lot,” Byrd said. “We have more lawsuits than I would care to imagine.”
“When there is active litigation, we don’t comment on it. There is active litigation between Disney and the governor’s office. It doesn’t directly affect the Department of State, I’m not involved in it. But I’m not going to comment on any litigation involving business in the state of Florida,” Byrd said.