FL: Are republicans to blame for long early voting lines?

[babylonsister]

Is the Legislature to blame for long early voting lines?

A 2005 bill passed by Florida legislators that caps the number of hours polls are open each day may be partly responsible for South Florida's long early voting lines this week.


BY CHARLES RABIN, LARRY LEBOWITZ AND MICHAEL VASQUEZ
[e-mail]


Saying early voting cost too much money with rules that weren't uniform, Republican legislators led a charge three years ago to set new statewide standards limiting the number of polling sites and their hours of operation.

Those revamped rules trimmed early voting from 12 hours per workday to eight.

During the first presidential election since Gov. Jeb Bush signed the bill in 2005, the new law's impact can be seen throughout South Florida: exhausting lines at polling sites in Miami-Dade and Broward that led voters to miss work, senior citizens to beg for chairs and voting advocates to question whether some are being disenfranchised.

From Miami City Hall to the Southwest Regional Library in Pembroke Pines, voters on Monday and Tuesday -- the first two days of early voting -- sweated out waits of two to five hours. Broward reported record turnout for early voting, which ends Nov. 2.

Now, the debate over those achingly long lines has turned political. Some Democratic leaders contend the bill intentionally slowed down a process that has historically benefited the party.

''They were using their power, their majority, to make it harder for people to vote, to gain a political advantage,'' said House Minority Leader Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach. ``It was horrible.''

Republicans dispute any political motives, saying the new rules set much-needed uniform standards while saving government money by trimming polling times.

more...

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/campaign-2008/story/735905.html

[Iwasthere]

1. FUCK UNIFORM STANDARDS!!!

And saving money. This is CRAZY!! We should be doing the opposite; opening polls longer and spending MORE money!! There seems to plenty of $$$ to spend 10 Billion a month in a needless war.

[babylonsister]

2. Hey, I'm on your side!

:hi:

[justinrr1]

3. New ballots take a long time

i am an obama fl early voter and the issues that make the line long are - your ID is swiped and the computer takes a while to come up with your info, then you are asked to recite your address and sign off. after that, they print the optical scan ballot for you and that takes longer than it should. we also have several long amendments that combined with having to bubble in sheets for the new ballots take a long time. I am sure that the repubs here are doing everything they can to make the lines longer, however I am happy to have a paper trail

[babylonsister]

4. So with all that, you'd think the voting hours would be lengthened,

not shortened.

[FLyellowdog]

5. I wish I didn't live here.

[babylonsister]

6. Don't feel bad; I'm in TX.

We're getting no love, from anyone. And then there's the senators...:eyes:

[OhioChick]

7. K&R

:kick:

[Wilms]

8. You have to expect this from Repiglicans.

They know too well.

If people vote, they lose.

[BlooInBloo]

9. As with all else, Digby rocked on this....

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/no-one-could-have-known-by-tristero.html