Florida Election Law

When does early voting end? It depends where you live.

admin — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:08:05 +0000

When does early voting end in Florida? The Division of Elections website states “August 24th.” Some newspaper articles state August 23rd. So who is right? Both are, it depends on your county.

Florida Statute 101.657 (1)(d) provides in part: “Early voting shall be provided for 8 hours per weekday and 8 hours in the aggregate each weekend at each site during the applicable periods.” Some Supervisors of Elections have implemented the 8 hours aggregate requirement each weekend by opening early voting sites for 8 hours on Saturday and kept the sites closed on Sunday, while other have scheduled 4 hours on Saturday and 4 hours on Sunday. Check the list published by the State before heading out to vote on the weekend.

Generally positive reviews of early voting process so far

admin — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:54:28 +0000

Reports so far, mostly out of South Florida, cast a positive review on the first days of early voting using paper ballots in formerly touchscreen locations. The Sun Sentinel ran one article titled “Paper ballots get rave reviews” in Broward County, and another article titled “Computer problems frustrate some on first day of early voting,” related to some delays in Palm Beach County because of problems with the state voter registration system. The Miami Herald proclaimed “No hitches, no glitches on first day of voting” and a UPI wire story stated “Early Florida voting goes flawlessly.”

More rumblings about paper ballots - new voter intent rule in September

admin — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:47:19 +0000

The St. Pete Times published an article today about concerns about the potential problems with paper ballots and recounts. What I found most interesting is the news that the State intends to issue a new “voter intent” rule on September 28th - in between the primary and general elections. This rule deals with how local canvassing boards should determine whether a voter intended to mark a vote selection when a question arises. The existing rule is published by the State online, along with an example sheet.

The proposed rule has been in the works for months, but the link on the State’s website to the notice of rule does not lead anywhere and has the odd name of http://election.dos.state.fl.us/rules/proposed-rules/pdf/R1S-2.027Stand4DeterVoterChoice.pdf - certainly not the best file naming idea.

Early voting begins - runs through August 24th

admin — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:31:33 +0000

Early voting in Florida for the August 26th primary election has begun - the State has published a master list of early voting sites for all counties.

Paypal OK with the State

admin — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:41:46 +0000

From a campaign finance perspective, an interesting Division of Election Opinion (08-07) was issued last month pertaining the use of PayPal. While the Division is not a believer in third-party websites accepting campaign contributions without registering as a political committee (08-03), it does not see a problem with candidates using PayPal from links on their own website. As to the date the contribution should be listed on disclosure reports, the Division likens PayPal to the Postal Service and states that payment should be dated on the date PayPal transfers the money into the campaign account. In reading the opinion and having used PayPal, my only question would be is that the date the money is in the PayPal account or the date the money is transferred from the PayPal account to the designated campaign bank account? Chapter 106, Florida Statutes would appear to focus on possession of the funds, not which account, but the opinion is not precise on that issue.

4 Weeks until Primary Early Voting

admin — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 20:02:36 +0000

Yes, believe it or not, the Florida Primary (the primary for Congress, State and Local races, not the Presidency) will arrive soon, courtesy of early voting beginning on August 11, 2008. This article reminded me that this will be the first large scale early voting in the larger Florida counties using paper ballots and optical scan equipment. The most populous Florida counties had been using touchscreen voting machines since the 2002 election cycle; having left the punch card behind after that technology was decertified after the 2000 election. How will voters react? Will voters be surprised that the technology offered has changed for the 2nd time this decade? Will the addition of optical scan equipment to early voting sites cause delays?

The last day to register to vote in the Florida Primary is July 28th, 2008.

DOJ settles Osceola School Board Voting Rights Case

admin — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:29:42 +0000

The U.S. Department of Justice has announced it has settled with Osceola County, resolving a challenge to the county’s School Board districts under the Voting Rights Act. Last week, according to the Orlando Sentinel, the School Board adopted the new districts enhancing the chances of electing a Hispanic candidate for the first time.

Federal Judge upholds Florida 29 day voter registration requirement

admin — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:10:26 +0000

The Miami Herald is reporting that the requirement in Florida that voters register 29 days before an election was held to be reasonable and not imposing a severe burden on constitutional rights by a Federal Judge in Miami . The Elections Supervisors (Broward, Duval, Miami-Dade, Orange, and Palm Beach Counties) in the case previously settled the case, agreeing to pay fees and to institute a “grace period” for voter registrations if such a change were allowed by law. To date, I am not aware of any such change.

Florida re-do of primary dead for now.

admin — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:15:30 +0000

The NY Times and other sources are reporting the Florida Democratic Party has given up on the idea of a new primary before the party’s summer convention. Since the idea is still alive in Michigan, I’d be surprised if more discussion doesn’t happen, at least while the Florida Legislature is still in session. The reasons given in Florida appear to be costs, ongoing change of voting technology, and the need to preclear changes under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.

New Florida Presidential Preference Vote a possibility

admin — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:30:25 +0000

Since this issue is getting bipartisan attention, with the statements from the Florida and Michigan governors, I thought I’d start writing about it here. As you know, the Florida Presidential Preference Primary was moved earlier this year. As a result, the Democratic National Committee has reportedly stated the Florida vote would not count towards delegates at this summer’s convention. According to reports, the Republican National Committee will only reduce Florida’s delegate count by 50%. With the Democratic race still to be decided, the question of a new vote in Florida continues to come up in the media. This will be interesting to watch as the Presidential Preference Primary is spelled out in statute - a repeat election could cause all sorts of challenges determining what rules to apply. I’ll write more about the statutory issues as this debate goes on.