PRESS RELEASE: In 2024, Florida Remains a Top Destination for Business and International Partnerships

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –

Today, Secretary of State Cord Byrd thanked Governor Ron DeSantis for his steadfast commitment and leadership in situating Florida as the gold standard in election integrity for timely, efficient, and accurate elections, as a top destination for business and international partnerships, for strengthening economic and cultural ties with other nations, and for enhancing the quality of life for all Floridians during 2024 calendar year. 

Through Governor DeSantis’ leadership, the Department of State has continued to create meaningful opportunities for citizens and business entities throughout the state, and Florida is recognized globally as an attractive place to do business. Additionally, the Florida Department of State has also been able to carry out its mission of preserving and promoting the state’s historical resources, sharing Florida’s rich cultural heritage, adding to archival collections, and contributing to a favorable business climate.

“Throughout the past year, Governor DeSantis has once again proven that Florida leads the nation in election integrity and elections administration, the best place for doing business through his innovative policies that include low taxes and low regulations,” said Secretary of State Cord Byrd.  “Further, through the Governor’s leadership, the Florida Department of State continues to move Florida into the future while protecting and promoting Florida’s rich historical and cultural past.”

The top accomplishments for the Florida Department of State for 2024 include:

Promoting Florida’s Unique Position for International Partnerships

Florida remains a leading gateway for international collaboration, hosting one of the nation’s largest network of consular missions and foreign trade offices. In 2024, Secretary Byrd received the Governor of Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, during the 29^th Anniversary celebration of the Florida-Wakayama Sister State Agreement.  Additionally, Secretary Byrd joined Governor DeSantis on a trade mission to Italy where the Secretary facilitated discussions to promote partnerships between Florida universities and Italian institutions, furthering Florida’s leadership in global innovation and diplomacy.

Supporting Florida’s Favorable Business Climate

The Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, continues to support the growing number of thriving businesses in our state by timely and efficiently processing record numbers of new business filings. New businesses continue to grow, over 628,000 new businesses were formed or qualified to transact business in Florida. Over 516,000 of the new businesses created during the past year were limited liability companies, and over 75,000 new for-profit corporations and 14,000 not-for-profit corporations were formed.

Conducting Accurate, Fair, and Efficient Elections

Florida remains committed to ensuring that all eligible Floridians who wish to exercise their right to vote may do so with the assurance that their vote will count and that their election outcomes can be trusted. This trust is built on election integrity measures the Florida Department of State has implemented in each election cycle, which has made Florida the gold standard in election administration. In 2024, the Division of Elections oversaw three statewide elections—the Presidential Preference Primary, the Primary Election, and the Presidential Election. Each election adhered to our laws which champion accuracy, fairness, and transparency. There were millions of votes cast by mail, early voting, and at the polls on Election Day, but because of our efficient process, Floridians knew the outcome by the evening of each election. The Division of Elections will continue to work with our partners in the Legislature and the 67 Supervisors of Election to build on our successes and maintain our high standard of election integrity.

Ensuring Election Integrity in Florida

The Office of Election Crimes and Security conducted preliminary investigations that uncovered hundreds of cases of election fraud related to the constitutional initiative petition process.  Investigations led to the arrests of more than a dozen paid petition circulators who were circulating petitions related to abortion, gambling, and legalizing marijuana. Numerous defendants have entered into cooperation agreements with the state and are providing information and cooperating in investigations against co-defendants. OECS conducted a three-county audit of signatures on initiative petition forms and published its findings in an Interim Report that was released in October 2024. Overall, OECS investigations have assisted in more than 60 arrests, and all cases that have gone to trial resulted in guilty convictions by juries, many others have resulted in negotiated pleas. Additionally, the OECS has imposed civil fines in excess of $300,000.00 to sponsoring committees of initiative petitions related to abortion and legalizing marijuana as well as various Third-Party Voter Registration Organizations.

Combatting Illegal Voting by Non-Citizens and Robust List Maintenance Procedures

Florida has robust voter roll maintenance procedures to identify registered voters who are not U.S. citizens. In September the Department sent a letter to the Biden administration demanding access to citizenship data needed for certain list maintenance activity. When the federal government refused, the Secretary filed suit. The lawsuit is currently pending in the Northern District of Florida.  In 2024, Secretary Byrd testified three times before Congress including comments about Florida’s list maintenance process before the United States Committee on House Administration in May 2024. You can hear the full testimony here. (Time Marker: 14:38).

Promoting Florida’s Unique Collections

Collaboratively Identified and Highlighted Collections

The Division of Historical Resources, Museum of Florida History, partnered with the Meek-Eaton Black Archives at Florida A&M University to identify, curate, and display a collaborative exhibit at Tallahassee’s recently-restored historic Union Bank building featuring artifacts relating to the building’s history since 1841. The restoration of the historic Union Bank earned an award from the Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation. Artifacts in the new exhibit are from the collections of the Meek-Eaton Black Archives, the Museum of Florida History, The Grove Museum, and the Division’s Bureau of Archaeological Research. The new exhibit and building opened the public in February 2024 and thus far has welcomed nearly 1,500 people including Florida citizens, out-of-state visitors, and local school children. The Union Bank Museum was also used as a location for several educational programs highlighting Tallahassee’s Bicentennial.

Collaborated with Local Partners to Celebrate Tallahassee and Leon County's Bicentennial

The Division of Historical Resources collaborated with local partners to celebrate Tallahassee's Bicentennial anniversary as Florida's Capital City. Division contributions to the Bicentennial included an exhibition at The Grove Museum featuring rare, historic Florida maps on loan from the Cognetta Family Collection; the creation of a log cabin capitol model representing the building where Florida's government first met in 1824, which traveled to different locations around the community and was seen by more than 30,000 people; and object loans from the Museum of Florida History for the Becoming Florida's Capitol exhibit at the Florida Historic Capitol Museum. The Division's museums also offered several programs during the bicentennial year that highlighted its collections and shared Tallahassee's history with the public. The Division's Historical Marker Program assisted the Tallahassee Historical Society in the approval of 4 new state historical markers that will be placed in publicly-accessible locations in Leon County.

Highlighting Florida’s Arts and Culture

Florida Division of Arts and Culture launched the Major John Leroy Haynes Florida Veterans' History Program. Oral and visual histories will be collected from Florida Veterans; work has already begun with a successful visit to the Seminole Veterans Building on the Brighton Reservation in Glades County.  Additionally, the Division hosted the exhibition celebrating the 29^th Anniversary of the Florida-Wakayama Sister State Agreement in the Capitol’s 22^nd Floor Art Gallery; this exhibition featured cultural exchanges between Wakayama and the State of Florida.

Identifying and Preserving Florida’s Unique Historic Properties

The Division of Historic Resources successfully listed 16 properties in the National Register of Historic Places, including 12 individual properties (such as the Madison Training School in Madison and the Hillman-Pratt Funeral Home in Jacksonville) and four districts (including Loxahatchee Battlefield in Palm Beach County and the Newtown Historic District in Sarasota). In addition, 9,100 resources were added to the Florida Master Site File in 2024 through grant funded historic resource surveys and preservation compliance activities. The Division provided approximately $160 million in grants to assist local governments, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations in preserving Florida’s heritage. This included the creation and implementation of a new grant program for Abandoned African-American Cemeteries.

The Division engaged in a community outreach campaign to bring awareness to the new Historic Cemeteries Program and the accompanying Abandoned African-American Cemeteries grant program. Through extensive research, the program has identified over 2000 previously unrecorded cemeteries, which will help ensure that these invaluable historic resources are protected and preserved. The Historic Cemeteries Program works closely with stakeholders from around the state, including state agencies, municipalities, planning departments, colleges and universities, community organizations and descendant groups, to facilitate collaboration and information sharing related to abandoned and historic cemeteries. In 2024, the Division also awarded 22 Abandoned African-American Cemeteries grants to projects that were reviewed and recommended for funding by the Historic Cemeteries Program Advisory Council.

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