After days of long lines and long waits for early voting, Florida Democrats asked Governor Rick Scott, a Republican, to extend early voting. It now ends on Saturday, because Republicans cut the number of days for early voting in half. Citing heavy turnout, Dems and League of Women Voters asked Governor Scott to restore voting this Sunday, the last day for "Souls to the Polls" drives before the election.
Governor Scott said no. From the Broward/Palm Beach New Times:
"Early voting will end Saturday night," Scott told reporters in response to the request. "But I want everybody to get out to vote."
Scott's Republican predecessor, Governor Charlie Crist, extended early voting in 2008 because voters were waiting in line for several hours. Then Barack Obama won the state, and Florida Republicans decided fewer days would be better somehow.
Florida Republicans have cut into Democrats' lead in early and absentee voting this year. But here's the thing about early voting: It gives campaigns a greater chance of bringing in voters who might not otherwise vote. They can make appointments with marginal voters to get them to the polls, and the first appointment doesn't work, they can go back for a second and third and fourth try. Democrats in Florida seem to be doing just that. Among voters who've missed the last few elections, Democrats say they're winning this time by more than 77,000 votes.
(Florida photos: Up top, an hour and a half wait Tuesday in Palm Beach Gardens, Brian Hashiguchi; below, an hour wait Sunday in Winter Park, Florida, by Stacy Forrest; How to send us stuff.)
Leave a Comment:
um,
the former Governor of Florida is the oilslick CHARLIE CRIST.
He extended early voting.
No one should have their votes supressed like your governor has tried like hell to do.
Somebody want to tell me why TC and Pretzelogic's posts were deleted??? What is going on here?
Without trying to reopen any metaphoric cans of worms, TC posted a comment, the nature of which suggested to me that TC had misunderstood the intent of rikyrah's comment, and then I posted a comment suggesting that TC's comment had been the result of a misunderstanding, and (while I've received no specific explanation or reprimand etc.) I imagine that the author of this blog article, Laura Conaway, deleted both posts, most likely in the interest of clarity and comity.
And as we all know, the most important thing in comity is... timing! (rimshot!)
I certainly have no particular objection in this instance.
Get Enraged and Engaged:
Mooch the Vote 2012!
;-)
Thanks Pretzelogic! I couldn't IMAGINE what would have gotten you and TC deleted when any troll can come on these blogs and call Rachel names and say any awful thing they want!!!
Laura, The previous Governor was Charlie Crist.
Yes, and sorry. Too much typing while sleep-deprived.
I think you want to change "Chris Christie" to "Charlie Crist."
Floridians voted a psychopathic felon into the governor's office, now they're dealing with it. The Democrats didn't get their side out and this is what they got.
I live in New York and I despise Governor Voldemort.
TC, At midnight, Alex Sink was ahead of pRick Scott by 4%. When I awoke at 7am, pRick Scott had been elected Gov. of Florida. Florida has NO recall petition.(brilliant)
We are stuck with IT, until 2014. I am a LIBERAL and proud and haven't missed a vote since I became 21.(1970). Scott spent around 70 million to buy the office. He plead the 5th amendment about 75 times to avoid prosecution for the Hospital Corporation of America Medicare fraud of 3.2 Billion. That's 3.2, with a B. He is lower than a snakes pecker.
We need to stop rewarding those that spend the most. In CA, we rejected a few of those trying to buy the public office. If we have to have a SCOTUS that approved buying public offices, we as voters must nix that. Maybe then candidates will realize they can't just take bribes.
Then there's Florida's Governor Scott,
Thinks drug dealing's a Democrat plot,
'Fore elections, his fame's
Faking Medicare claims.
You think this guy's a con man, or what?
People need to keep a close eye on Florida. Not to state the obvious, but there are some things that aren't right in the Sunshine State. Below is a variant of message that was shared previously, but it is fitting that I share it here.
-------------------------------------
If people only knew the half. The “bottom content” at the current-dot-com link displayed below is a variant of an email that was shared with various members of the media (and other parties likely to take an interest in this issue) beginning at the start of the week. This is not a joke. There is likely way-way-way-way-way more to this (i.e. the subject matter addressed in the article) than initially meets the eye. Those who seek the truth would be wise to visit the link http://current.com/community/93943807_epic-2012-election-impacting-scandal-amongst-casualties-florida-s-gov-rick-scott-google-part-1-of-2.htm and read all of the content...and follow the instructions. Truth seekers will be glad they did. Those "in the know" know that there is much afoul in the air. Those who are following this story, and opt to follow my suggestion, will likely be particularly interested in the line of the poem that addresses pages 6-8, 54-57, 165, and 160-162 (especially 165 and 160-162). To those that decide to seek the truth...happy hunting!
P.S.
One last thing, the photos in the Priorities USA video are interesting. It has been relatively widely reported that Gov. Scott and candidate Romney haven’t yet campaigned together in Florida. For reference see the second to last sentence of the story at the url realclearpolitics-dot-com/2012/10/07/confident_romney_rallies_thousands_in_florida_292344-dot-html .
Thanks--beat me to it--Charlie Crist was the governor of FL not our pal Chris Christie!
Chris Christie is so large, he covers Florida.
He might be large...but you're ugly, and he CAN go on a diet!!!
I think the ugliness is in your comment.
And I think it's here to stay, just like Christie's weight.
If we the voters can't stop sniping at each other, how can we expect the candidates to stop? Grow up, both of you.
JT-
Review your comment for the irony.
No, you need to grow up and stop making fun of people's weight!! You didn't like my comment because it targeted "YOU!!" How's it feel?? Obviously it struck a nerve!! If you have kids...I bet they're brats, if this what you teach them!! If not...don't have any and spare the next generation your hateful, hurtful, smart-a$$ remarks!
Seriously? Cut it out.
Sandy, it's not my fault you're fat.
@TheRealChris:
It is, however, your fault that you're a jerk.
Back at you.
Are you fat too?
Why would people think it is ok to make a comment on someone's size and not ok to make a joke about their skin color,sexual orientation or calling someone retarded? You don't have a pass to mock someone because of their size. Judge them on who they are and what they have accomplished in their lives.
It's not a fair election if voters in different states don't have equal access to the polls. We seriously need a constitutional amendment to federalize elections.
Tell me about it. NO early voting for us here in Pennsyltucky! :P
Get Enraged and Engaged:
Mooch the Vote 2012!
;-)
Agree! The qualifications and conditions for election to federal office should be uniform across the country.
I hate to tell you this but elections are already as good as federalized. What needs to happen is for State officials that interfere with elections to start going to jail. It hasn't happened yet but it's never too late for a first time.
Amen
Florida has given EVERYONE the chance to vote. My husband mailed in his ballot and didn't have to wait in line one minute. I went on the 1st day of voting and waited only 45 minutes. Every polling station has a wait time telling you how long the wait is. We still have Tuesday, ELECTION DAY. No one has an excuse not to vote...unless they just don't want to. If that is the case, they should stop complaining!
Same here in Michigan. No early vote, and have to prove a need for an absentee ballot. I work 12 hour days, would be nice to have some weekend voting so I can do it on a day off, rather than stand in line for hours, then go work a long shift.
edit: Was originally pointing out the Christie / Crist confusion, but I was long since beat to the punch.
Take heed citizens. This is what a Republican Supermajority looks like . House ,Senate and Governorship.
In the best interest .....of all things Republican and Big Bidness . Privatize everything that moves. Prisons schools you name it.
I was no fan of Charlie Christ , but he vetoed some of the Batshyt insane legislation
Not sure what to think about Charlie. Is he conscience-driven or a political wind sock? Rumor has it he's considering running for governor in 2014 as a Democrat.
On the other hand . . . I know exactly what to think of Scott.
"political wind sock" Just about nails it.
There is however another aspect to that definition, it's called listening to the constituents.
He vetoed an "Ultrasound Abortion bill and a teacher merit pay that would have only served to punish those in lower socioeconomic school districts
I would have him over any, ANY Republican governor
He got teabagged out of the primary with Marco Rubio for being reasonable.
Amen!
Charlie Crist was a good governor. Yes, he changed stance on several issues, but most of those were good changes for him to have made. I would support his campaign whole heartedly if he were to run, especially if he were running against our present Governor.
Let everything that Republicans are doing to try and block our vote remind us of one thing. Show up to vote and stay in line no matter what, because once you reach the end of that line, you are guaranteed the right to vote and in this election, it is what will make the difference. By the way, momentum in a lot of the polls is in our favor but things are still very close and voting is the only way to reap the benefits of momentum.
Momentum is in our favor because as Rush Limbo (don't care to look up his spelling so it stays) stated, the repuknican voters are waiting to vote on election day rather than cheat.
I see the Romney supports waving signs and I wish I could taze them - electro-shock might be the only solution to their madness.
Scott (AKA Skeletor, Voldemort and Pink Slip Rick) said no because the long lines are intentional. The Republican legislature jammed 11 dubious proposed amendments to the Florida constitution on the ballot, making it 3 1/2 legal-length pages long. Voting on the ballot requires filling in a circle in black ink, so if a voter actually reads through all of the amendments and votes on every issue and election, it will take over 15 minutes (and most likely much longer) to complete - ensuring long lines. Another form of voter suppression by the repukes.
This is why I've been encouraging people to prepare themselves before they go to the polls. Also? If you're a Floridian, just vote NO on all the constitutional amendments, and vote YES to retain all the state Supreme Court and Appeals Court justices. This is another ploy by Tricky Ricky to get political control over the third branch - the Judicial. Then you just have your President, Senate, and any lesser local offices and issues to vote on. I waited in line for an hour, and voting this way allowed me to complete my ballot in about 5 minutes. Or less. By the way, in Miami-Dade County, the ballot is 5 two-sided pages, making it 10 pages long!
so we many places in our country have tailgate parties at football games, right? Why not have a votergate party? Each person bring a potluck with them to the polls and enjoy! It may even bring more people out to vote! Turn this against the GOP make it work for us. Just as our government should work for us.
great idea! Make a potluck voter party for those standing in line!! Then it won't be a hardship to wait in line for an hour or more....
Patty: in trolling the Internet today, I see that at the one and only (!) early voting site in Manatee County, Florida (Bradenton, FL and environs--in between St. Petersburg and Sarasota), a downtown coffee shop was giving away coffee and water. Not a full-blown "votergate party," but a nice idea.
And why only one early voting site in Manatee? According to the Bradenton Herald, "Sweat [Bob Sweat, county supervisor of elections] explained that the type of equipment Manatee County uses requires more space -- roughly 1,200 square feet -- than he has in order to operate more than one early voting site." Huh? What sort of equipment is he using--old mainframes from 1958? And are there no empty storefronts that could be rented?
Reference: http://www.bradenton.com/2012/11/03/4264601/saturday-is-last-day-for-early.html
Correction to my 2:58 p.m. post: I have discovered while reading the dead-tree paper that, under Florida law, supervisors of elections can only use libraries and city halls. I'm still not quite convinced that this fellow Sweat could only find one government building to use.
It's working Rick, it's working. Your efforts to make voting more difficult are causing the very long lines and frustration you were hoping for. The system sucks, because you made it suck. Folks are irritated with, and skeptical of, the voting system and its turning out just like you wanted it to.
Just wait until the actual day. If people can't get their voting done in these lead up days, when the actual, single, voting day comes, it's going to be a total clusterfYOUck. Lot's of folks may not get to vote at all. Others won't be sure if their vote counted. Just like you wanted. There will be confusion and arguments about the outcome. Just. Like. You. Wanted!
Well done Rick. You've further degraded the voting process in Florida. You are a vote shyster hero. Voting in Florida is a very sketchy deal, and you've made a significant contribution to locking in that result. SUCCESS!
Sounds like Rick needs to find a new job too, maybe working a ponzy scheme in Utah?
I'll never understand how this medicare thief was elected...?
The voters hoped he would bring his corruption of health care expertise to their voting process. They should be overjoyed. He's meeting all their expectations.
A lot of people don't understand it, Rixar...
Alex Sink had endorsements from lots of organizations. Scott had endorsements from his wife and his mother.
I called "shenanigans" at the time, but it did no good.
As as Floridian, I think we can cite several reasons why Scott got in. First, he benefited from all the Tea Party folks that showed up at the polls. Second, "low information voters" paid attention to slick ads that told people what they wanted to hear in lieu of things like newspapers, which are harder to digest and which are "biased." Finally, there was also the fact that the Democratic candidate was not very well known statewide, despite holding a state Cabinet post.
Keep in mind that Gov. Scott got in with a "landslide" victory margin of 1.15 percent.
You can see the trouble that early voting causes for people. It's past time for the Legislature to get rid of it.
So true! Better to have just one day of long lines than a whole weeks worth. /sarcasm.
Before any newcomers jump to wrong conclusions, let me assure you DC's /snark "tag" must have "fallen off" when he/she was posting!
Get Enraged and Engaged:
Mooch the Vote 2012!
;-)
Please, DC . . . don't give our republican legislature any ideas. They come up with enough stupid crap on their own -- thus, a 3-page ballot.
Caused by a idiot republican. Are you one also?
Thank you, Pretzelogic, thank you.
I have been a poll watcher 3 times so far in early voting and done some shifts outside handing out voter guides. It's easy to spot the R's. They are the ones with scowls on their faces and heads down. We are a 50/50 county by registration, but my eyeball count is that we have them on the run. Leave no one at home unvoted for this one. Each one bring one!
Leave it to zombie boy Scott to keep pulling the rope tighter!
People this is what happens when WE the PEOPLE don't pay attention to what's going on around US and just vote rethugniCons into office - state/local/federal - these people are batshyt crazy and need to be voted out! I get that both sides of the aisle have colluded and soul themselves to the Plutocracy, but the rethugniCons sold their very souls and aren't about to turn back now! When this years votes are taken, WE the PEOPLE need to work to 1) repeal Citizens United, 2) nationalize voting standards, 3) enact a Constitutional Amendment against money in politics! After all, our democracy is at stake and under threat from the Plutocracy!!
Absofreakinlutely, Zora Renee.... You hit the nail on the head. If we take the money out of politics we are all better off! Nothing pisses me off more than having these unethical state officials messing with voter rights! I don't care who you are or what you believe in, as long as you are a U.S. Citizen with the legal right to vote, government officials at ALL levels from the federal right down to little townships, should do whatever they can to ensure people get to exercise that right to vote. Even if it means leaving the polls open longer or increasing the number of early voting days it needs to happen as a way of upholding our Constitution. I'm sure the founding fathers never imagined millions of people needing to vote on the same day for pete's sake!
How do we correct this between elections, not 3 weeks before elections? I thought write your local/state/federal representation, but they are the ones doing all this...
What to do, citizens?
Maybe a petition to get the UN involved? I know our country, and especially republicans don't care for the UN, but how embarrassing would it be for them to publicly question what's going on? I know they want to observe and Texas says they won't let them, etc., but I'm talking about having the UN call us out on our election practices. Of course the republicans would say "See, even the UN thinks the democrats engage in voter fraud" even if the UN report actually singles out repub voter suppression tactics (just like how they make the downgrading from the debt crisis Obama's fault).
Continue to promote awareness and apply actual pressure between the election cycles. Convince community groups to get involved and consolidate their efforts to create a continuing 'check & balance' of government entities that is comprised of 'the people.'
Promote and elect representation that will actually work in the interest of voters and block off support to those that only pander to parties or lobbyists. Even if you don't want to be that person, get involved enough at the local level to keep people informed and facilitate their ability to act.
Get local newspapers and other media that should be on the side of the people to actually work for the people. IF they don't, boycott them until they DO.
Sadly, we no longer live (if we ever did) in a system where our elected officials professionally and reliably do their jobs. As this is the case, concerned citizens need to point this out and keep the pressure on until the officials begin working for their constituents as they should or are replaced with those who will.
Emphasize transparency in government actions and open policy decisions and support those news/blogs/papers/magazines that keep the people accurately informed.
Essentially, it takes vigilance and action. If change is truly desired, we can no longer afford to accept the status quo and look the other way when politicians lie, cheat, steal and act in their own interests (and the interests of those that pay them more than we do).
If we aren't willing to proactively and continually act on our own behalf as a society, then we're essentially getting exactly what we - as a society - are willing to fight for. Liars, cheaters and thieves.
um actually the photos are incorrectly labeled. The first photo is Palm Beach Gardens. The second photo is Winter Park, FL. I know this because that's my library in WP where I early voted... It's a small library with a small parking lot - but people are parking all over the place nearby and making an "outing" of it. Get out and vote folks. Tell Scott to stick it where the sun don't shine.
You're right, Bev, and thank you. How was it when you voted there?
2008 I waited in line 2 hours to vote for my President Obama. Some were ordering piazzas and passing them out to everyone who wanted a slice. Perhaps do the same, order several piazzas and pass a hat if need be. Feed those in line, also maybe bring water bottles or pop. Ensure people stay to vote. Keep a watch on the elderly and young who might need help or assistance. Be ready to intervene if you see any tru(steal) the vote thugs. Call the police.
Here's the thing, though. When they try to suppress voter rights we all need to speak up. Those of us who can need to stand in line for as long as it takes. we need to show the powers that be that we will fight for our right to vote.
Stay calm and vote on.
Here, SC, if you were in line, they could / would not deny you the right to vote even if it was time for the polling place to close. Demand accountability of the polling places.
I really want to have all eyes on the voting process and if you must wait in line hours, be prepared to do that.
Do we have in place watchers of the counters of ballots, the Sec. Of States, these die hard serial election law changers that do not want everyone to vote?
What in the hell are we doing finding uncounted stolen and tampered with ballots already?
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_21914352/vallejo-completed-mail-ballots-found-discarded-street
That area is a highly minority populated area. This is not in Florida or Pennsylvania or Ohio, but deep blue California.
This has got to be prosecuted and shame and criminal pall cast on all those doing this.
I waited in line 1.5 hours yesterday to vote. Was it fun? No, but I'm not letting these guys win and did my part.
I don't get this - I know there are 5x as many people in the US, but here in the UK we get one day to vote and no-one has to stand in line...
I waited an hour to vote on Monday. The lines are exceptionally long, and I don't think cutting the dates, or times of early voting is helping. I also have been voting early ever since it was offered in Florida and this is the longest I've ever seen it.
My educated guess would be that things will get a lot worse if Republicans continue to be elected to Governor seats. Scott will be up for re-election in 2014...unless voters recall him. I'd like to say that Florida Dems will kick him out before then, but history shows that Dems everywhere don't have the backbone to do that.
I'd say after this last few years it's time to vote out those Repubs at every chance. The moderate Rs are endorsing Obama. They are proving unworthy wasters of the taxpayers resources. Trying to legislate private matters and let public matters fester just to make election points. DISGUSTING!
It's time for the Dems to grow a spine and they need to get to work if they are elected into office. The Rs are just totally ideologues, trying to push their own agenda, to hell with what we want done.
In Florida we can not recall the governor or any other state official. Only politicians below the state level can be recalled. So we are stuck with Scott for 2 more years!! I guess we could hope that he'd volunteer to resign!!!!!! No such luck.
Unfortunately, there is no recal petition in Florida.
Dragon Mom, There is no recall petition in Florida for State elected officials. There is recall below that, but not State officials, brilliant, right...:-(
Hang in there, Florida patriots. Exercise your franchise! Be strong! After you vote, send back coffee and donuts for those still in line!!
I wonder if Election Day just needs to be a Federal and State Holiday? Can we ditch Columbus Day & take off Election Day so we can vote?
Seems to me the point is that if you favor being able to vote and to have a say in how your representatives act then you better stop bitching and VOTE! This could be your last chance to save democracy from the "we are a republic not a democracy" crowd.