Voting Is Already a Mess in Florida

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The first election-related federal lawsuit has already been filed in South Florida, where some citizens waited over seven hours to vote early over the weekend. In an area that includes Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Broward County -- yes, that Broward County -- Florida Democrats scrambled to extend early voting hours over the weekend citing "inadequate polling facilities" in a complaint filed in a Miami federal court on Sunday. "The extraordinarily long lines deterred or prevented voters from waiting to vote," says the lawsuit. "Some voters left the polling sites upon learning of the expected wait, and others refused to line up altogether. These long lines and extreme delays unduly and unjustifiably burdened the right to vote." These three counties are home to 32 percent of the state's Democrats.

So far, local officials haven't seemed too sympathetic to the plight of early voters. In response to Sunday's lawsuit, election supervisors in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties said that they'd allow would-be early voters to pick up and drop off absentee ballots so that they wouldn't have to wait in line. The small concession came after another request for an extension of early voting was denied last Thursday by Republican Governor Rick Scott and state election officials who said that everything was running smoothly. Scott is the same governor who approved a measure last year that reduced Florida's early voting period from 14 to eight days, a crunch that many critics think caused the long lines this year.

It's not even Election Day, yet, but some people are freaking out about the chaotic situation in Florida. "We're looking at an election meltdown that is eerily similar to 2000, minus the hanging chads," Dan Smith, a political science professor at the University of Florida, told The Huffington Post. Smith also warned that attempted to bridge the gap with absentee ballots, as a number of districts across Florida are now doing, would disenfranchise minorities. "Absentee ballots have a much higher rejection rate for minorities and young people, if you look at the Aug. 14 primary." HuffPost's Amanda Terkel adds, "Democrats are traditionally more likely to vote early, which is why many in the party have ascribed political motives to Scott's restriction of the process."

Now, this is not the year 2000. After that election, though, everybody in America knows that Florida can make a big difference in a presidential election. Everybody agrees that Ohio is the state to win, but Florida is still a toss-up with a lot of Electoral College votes. It's also a state that could probably do without another big voting scandal. The Obama campaign, for one, is not going to let Floridians forget about that one.

http://news.yahoo.com/voting-already-mess-florida-041641182.html

Let the whining butthurt begin!

[MuDelphi 159]

Why should anyone be forced to wait more than 7 hours to vote? Thanks, Rick Scott.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

When I went to vote on Friday afternoon a lady came up to the line, scoffed at the idea of having to wait to vote, and left...

Amusing how people seem to forget that in major cities you're going to have to wait in LONG lines (especially on a weekend for the last part of early voting) as the population and the voter base usually is going to be pretty large.

I maybe waited 20 mins to get to vote at my early voting polling place on Friday, but luckily the one I chose wasn't in an overly populated area. I went to one on the more semi-affluent side of town!

[JohnR! 5,495]

Let the whining butthurt begin!

That was expected.

The governor of Florida approved a law eliminating early vote on Sunday, as a means to curb the minority vote practice known are 'Souls to Polls'.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

That was expected.

The governor of Florida approved a law eliminating early vote on Sunday, as a means to curb the minority vote practice known are 'Souls to Polls'.

I thought the left was all about separation of church and state.

[JohnR! 5,495]

I thought the left was all about separation of church and state.

Legislation was actually introduced by the god fearing republicans in Fl... Go figure...

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

Could be a problem with that new Florida voting machine.. Just push the big red button silly!

Edited November 5, 2012 by OnMyWayID

[Dakine10 5,452]

I maybe waited 20 mins to get to vote at my early voting polling place on Friday, but luckily the one I chose wasn't in an overly populated area. I went to one on the more semi-affluent side of town!

Hold on to that memory, young man. This election may be too close to call, but it's somewhat easier to predict that those semi-affluent areas are likely to be harder to find in the years ahead. Regardless who wins.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

How many days do they have to vote in Florida and can they mail in their votes along with doing it online? Try 8 days and yes to both with the online and mail in. It's a big to do about nothing and it's being pushed by the press along with the Dems.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

How many days do they have to vote in Florida and can they mail in their votes along with doing it online? Try 8 days and yes to both with the online and mail in. It's a big to do about nothing and it's being pushed by the press along with the Dems.

You can vote by mail, absentee in person, early for 8 days and then on election day. You can request absentee ballots via mail, online and in person. There are plenty of opportunities to avoid the long lines. On the other hand, ballot rejection rates for absentee ballots are higher than those for in person ballots. Minority absentee ballots have a greater chance of being rejected so I can see why many people prefer to vote in person.

[spookyturtle 9,466]

And Florida rigs the voting to favor Republicans anyway.

[david'sgirl 134]

My daughter moved to Orlando and she registered to vote. She turned up to vote last week and waited in line for close to two hours. She was then informed the deadline for registration was the 10th. She has email confirmation it was received timely but the woman at the polling place told her it was not recorded until the 11th. They let her cast her vote, sealed it in an envelope which she had to sign and now it goes to a review board to see if it counts or not. She was told it is a "provisional vote". Well a few hundred of those could really affect the election. Only in Florida could they make something so simple into such a fiasco! I'm beginning to wonder if this will be like Gore-Bush all over again. She is an Independent so it was not targeted toward either party.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

And Florida rigs the voting to favor Republicans anyway.

Naturally.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I'm beginning to wonder if this will be like Gore-Bush all over again.

It won't be. Florida is not very likely to decide the electoral college this time around. True, if Obama carries FL, it's pretty much game over for Romney. But Romney has to carry a heck of a lot more than the Sunshine state to get to 270. So no, this isn't going to be a repeat of 2000 where FL truly decided the outcome of the election.