State Your Stance

Candidate’s Official Statement on ALPRs

Rev. Dr. Rivera believes we can keep our communities safe without turning them into surveillance states. Law enforcement deserves the tools to catch criminals, but law-abiding Americans should not have their movements tracked, stored, and shared simply for going about their daily lives. The Fourth Amendment doesn't have an expiration date, and it doesn't bend to new technology. Any surveillance system must come with strict limits on data retention and access, real transparency, independent oversight, and accountability to the people it serves. Freedom and safety are not opposites, a government that respects the Constitution can protect both. That is the standard Ernie Rivera will bring to the United States Senate.

Official Submitted Questionnaire

The document as submitted, in the standard format used for every candidate.

Candidate Questionnaire

Automated License Plate Readers & Government Surveillance

Candidate Name
Rev. Ernest J. Rivera
Office Sought
U.S. Senate for Florida

  1. 1. Do you support law-enforcement use of Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs), including Flock cameras?

    Yes — Support
    No — Oppose
    Support with Limits
    No Position

  2. 2. Do you believe law-enforcement use of ALPRs raises Fourth Amendment privacy concerns?

    Yes — Support
    No — Oppose
    Support with Limits
    No Position

  3. 3. Should residents have the right to vote before ALPR systems are installed in their community?

    Yes — Support
    No — Oppose
    Support with Limits
    No Position

  4. 4. Would you support mandatory independent third-party audits of law-enforcement surveillance systems and programs?

    Yes — Support
    No — Oppose
    Support with Limits
    No Position

  5. 5. Do you support protecting the First Amendment right of people to peacefully protest, petition their government, and publicly oppose government surveillance without being monitored because of that speech or subjected to retaliation for exercising those rights?

    Yes — Support
    No — Oppose
    Support with Limits
    No Position

  6. 6. Would you support creating a legal process that allows law-abiding residents to voluntarily opt out of routine ALPR data collection so their vehicles are not routinely scanned, tracked, or stored in an ALPR database, while allowing law enforcement to continue using ALPR technology for vehicles associated with criminal investigations, wanted persons, or other lawful public-safety purposes?

    Yes — Support
    No — Oppose
    Support with Limits
    No Position

Optional Candidate Statement

Rev. Dr. Rivera believes we can keep our communities safe without turning them into surveillance states. Law enforcement deserves the tools to catch criminals, but law-abiding Americans should not have their movements tracked, stored, and shared simply for going about their daily lives. The Fourth Amendment doesn't have an expiration date, and it doesn't bend to new technology. Any surveillance system must come with strict limits on data retention and access, real transparency, independent oversight, and accountability to the people it serves. Freedom and safety are not opposites, a government that respects the Constitution can protect both. That is the standard Ernie Rivera will bring to the United States Senate.

Date response received: July 29, 2026