That is an excellent question!

People are rioting in the streets by standing in line to vote, because this is what's going to make the difference in this election. Latinos, African-Americans, young people and Democrats in general will show this country that we do show up to vote.This will be the election that finally proves this is a diverse nation and all of us determine the future of our destiny, not the forces working to block us, divide us or buy us. When we make our voices heard on Tuesday, we will be solidifying that this is the last election where certain voting blocs are ignored or disrespected.

What I don't understand is how can this be legal? 4 to 5 hours standing in line to vote - there should be mandates in place where more machines should be made available to alleviate this.

Believe me, they are coming. I went to vote at my city clerks office in Michigan and in a small with about 50 people packed into it awaiting their ballots to take home to fill out, a young man asked handed in his ballot which had not been sealed, a woman said "be sure to seal that so that the republicans can't take it out and throw it away." The man then said "if this election goes bad do you think their will be riots?" And without missing a beat nearly every singe person in the room, including the women working the office, all basically chimed in saying "YES, definitely!" and then many elaborated as to how they are preparing for it by buying grocery items in bulk, ammo (somewhat jokingly), water, batteries and more.

I personally am astonished by the fact that no American idiot (of which their are millions) has yet strapped himself with explosives and enter a polling place or something. I believe America is heading for a civil war. Sad but terrifyingly possible!

Davis D., Please don't give them any ideas.

The militarization of community police began in the seventies with special weapons and tactics . The introduction of robots and armoured personnel carriers "tanks" followed . The acceptance of deadly force , aka , as pepper , capsicum , spray , and electric shocking , for incorrect responses has become routine , long before todays date . The freedom to assemble has been given all the freedom barbed wire can , and still does , offer during Democratic and Republican party nominating conventions .

So comes a decision to "Riot" . A non returnable decision that will include fairly severe non appealable non judicial penalties . The successful suit which framed the killing of diabetics , and all of the rest of the living and the dead "others" , for incorrect responses still not filed all these deaths , injuries , and humiliations later .

The media coverage of your deaths and injuries will read like a police public service announcement . The sympathy for your death and injuries will be tempered by the consensus that you had it coming .

You may feel encouraged to study the sentiment in the following lyric produced in Wonderful Town , lyrics by Betty Comden , Adolph Green , and music by Leonard Bernstein , after a completely irrational confrontation with our new remodeled "Peace Officers" .

WHY, OH WHY, OH WHY, OH ...
WHY DID I EVER LEAVE OHIO ?
WHY DID I WANDER TO FIND WHAT LIES YONDER
WHEN LIFE WAS SO COZY AT HOME ...

My question is...How is it possible to cast an absentee ballot in person?

Go have sex with your mother

Ah, you are So brilliant!!!

If you perceive injustice,then you SUE and the court agrees with you,doesn't that make your opponent the one to be laughed at?

Post a provocative empty calorie right wing conundrum ambush , wait , pouncy pout . What gains a soul profit , that diminishes both vendor and victim ?

Being in Bumpkin land I'm use to people introducing their Wife, sister and daughter .... or Husband, brother and son ... and there being only one person with them.

.

I'm confused by this comment...why shouldn't the Florida Democrats sue to extend early voting? Or, I guess the real question is, what good reason does the Governor have to limit early voting to the extent that he has? You're criticizing the Democrats for what, exactly--protecting the citizens' right to participate in democracy? And doing so through the judicial system?

It is called legislating from the bench. Florida law dictates that:

Early voting begins 10 days before an election and ends on the 3rd day before any election in which there is a state or federal office race.

So now what? You want to add a day or two to the calendar in November? Change things at the last minute because you do not like the way it is going? You CAN vote on Tuesday you know. And it HAS been going on for over a week....follw the damned law for once.

So your problem is with the people trying to make sure everyone who wants to vote is able to, not with those who are trying to suppress the vote. One of the most patriotic things you can do in this country is vote. One of the least patriotic is to try to stop those who you disagree with from exercising their rights.

If you don't like the turnout, suppress the vote, reduce voting times, fight voter registration, and work to disenfranchise hard-working voters simply because you don't think they'll vote for someone in your party.

turn out in fl is record breaking e love the turn out just not the fact that the repubs and repub gov are trying to supress the vote~how would u feel if it were u that was being prevented from voteing??? would u be as cavaliar?????

Follow the law? It is only the law because Rick Scott changed it and why? To cut hours and limit access to voting. If he hadn't cut hours there would have been no reason to sue in the first place. Let's do what is morally right and patriotic.

No, my problem is that there are regulations in place for voting. You know what they are well in advance of an election. If they don't suit you, change them BEFORE. Upon your line of thinking, why can I not vote in January then? Who is telling somone they can not vote? They ARE open on Tuesday you know. What happened BEFORE all of this early voting started? People went on Tuesday and cast their ballot.

Are you arguing that Mr. Benen has it wrong and the good governor has not cut the voting days in half , or are you content to offer an incomplete point that allows you to mock those who actually have a point .

So when did Scott change the voting hours? When did the dems file their lawsuit? Maybe this process started a long time ago or maybe it started just recently when the dems saw people waiting in line for 5 hours. Either way why would you fault them for trying to right what is clearly a wrong.

Where is the voter suppression? Just do not get it. Pople have know for months that there is going to be en election on Tuesday November 6, 2012. If you didn't know that you are living under a rock. People sure know howget in line when the new I-Phone is coming out.

Oh and watch the video, Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist both ordered the polls stay open longer at the last minute to make sure everyone got the chance to vote. They saw the problem and tried to fix. Rick Scott saw a problem too. Too many people trying to vote, I guess he tried to fix that by restricting access. Bush and Crist are Republicans by the way. So you see this is not an unprecedented action. It is done to make sure everyone gets a chance to vote. It is not like people are not trying to vote, the problem is they are. They are waiting 5 hours, not everyone can afford to do that.

So your problem is not that Scott is not FOLLOWING the law, it is that he is not CHANGING the law.

My problem is that Scott is doing everything in his power to stop people from voting. Cutting early voting hours isn't only one thing he has done. Clearly, if you look into what he done such as voter purges, restricted voter registration drives etc., you can only come to the conclusion that is his intent is stop people from voting. That bothers me and it doesn't just bother me because it means fewer dems will vote (which is truly the intent). It bothers me because everyone in this country who is eligible to vote and wants to vote should be allowed to, no matter who you are voting for. Anything less is anti-American.

You like to interchange the words "right" and "convenience". Early voting is a CONVENIENCE. You have the RIGHT to vote on Tuesday.

Voting is right, period. Not voting on Tuesday. If for whatever reason (for instance if my mother died and I have to be out of town) I can't vote on Tuesday then I give up my right? You fail to address the fact that Scott is trying to take this right away from many, in many different ways.

Yes, you give up your right. Your right, your choice. It is Election DAY not election MONTH. Is it fair to those in states that do not have early voting? Got to love a good prevaricated conspiracy theory. I have yet to see ONE person that has been told they do not have the right to cast a ballot. How about those in New York and New Jersey that won't be able to GET to a voting booth? The one's whos lives are so up in the air right now that they could give a flying f#$k about an election. What is THEIR right this election period? Oh that's right. They would be BLUE anyway....they don't matter because it doesn't affect anything.

Yes, you give up your right. Your right, your choice. It is Election DAY

No you don't. The correct answer is: you get an absentee ballot from the state that you live in, which is a form of early voting.

I have yet to see ONE person that has been told they do not have the right to cast a ballot.

And I have. And it was a horrible sight to see.

How about those in New York and New Jersey that won't be able to GET to a voting booth?

The answer is this: New Jersey to allow voting by email and fax for residents displaced by Sandy

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/11/new-jersey-to-allow-voting-by-email-and-fax-for-residents-displaced-by-superstorm-sandy/264499/

And this: New York adjusts absentee vote deadling after sandy:

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/01/new-york-adjusts-absentee-vote-deadline-after-sandy/

So it appears as if a great deal of those people give a flying @!$%# about the election.

You should be ashamed about how ignorant you are.

Sorry, I am not as ignorant as you want me to be. In all of your scenarios, where is it that you can vote AFTER Tuesday? You made it seem as if your mother died (God forbid) , that you would not vote, and if you do not vote, YES you give up your right. Doesn't make any sens. Where is it that you are allowed to cast a ballot AFTER Tuesdday? The article your referenced said they extended it to LAST Friday, far before Tuesday. I am by far not a fan of Mr. Scott, but it seems as if you all are saying that he went up to someone and told them that they CAN NOT VOTE.

Pattycakes:

Shifting the goal posts again, huh?

No one is saying anything about voting after Tuesday.

The fact of the matter is: You do not give up your right to vote under any circumstance: you can get an absentee ballot and vote. And all before Tuesday's election.

The articles that I cited show you to be ignorant at best, a liar at worst.

How about those in New York and New Jersey that won't be able to GET to a voting booth? The one's whos lives are so up in the air right now that they could give a flying f#$k about an election.

Those are your words, which were proven to be false.

And Scott doesn't have to go up to a person and tell them that they can't vote. He has others doing the dirty work for him.

Your ignorance really is astounding.

The 1% solution. If you can't win the popular vote, change the rules so the population can't vote.

These people call themselves Patriots

One reason why Charlie Crist isn't around. He expanded early voting hours, greeted the President warmly once, and was expelled as a traitor for it. Gotta love Florida. They know how to do voter suppression!

Voter suppression has been going on for years with the teapubs. I just hope that something is done, on a national level to ensure people can vote without all these state suppression tactics. It's been going on far too long and this year is just over the top.

Just because the teapubs make a law to be enforced just six months or less before an election, doesn't make it right. If teapubs were concerned about voter fraud, they would try to put laws into effect in a year before a major election and not six months before. Of course, if they really are concerned about voter fraud, they need look no further than themselves.

Sorry, early voting was instituted in 2004. none of us ever heard of Scott before then. What about the states where there is NO early voting?

Which has exactly what to do with the far seeing governors cutting the voting days in half ?

Early voting started in 1996 in Florida Tennesse and Texas.

Also: the all of the states who do not have early voting have voting by absentee ballot, so actually you can vote early by utilizing the absentee ballot option in those states.

Too many in mainstream media have ignored all of the efforts by Republicans to block the vote because there is no equal actions within the Democratic Party and the Republican actions are so despicable, no matter what the facts are, mainstream media are afraid of being seen as choosing sides. If you are ignoring all of the overwhelming facts about how far Republicans have gone to block the vote of free citizens who are guaranteed the right to vote, then you are choosing the Republicans side by not reporting these actions and letting them get away with it.

"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!" spoken by President Merkin Muffley as protrayed by Peter Sellers in the film "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" .
This quote may be bent , spindled , folded , or mutilated . As long as we don't have any of that darned voting in the voting booth dramatics , carry on .

Definitely one of the many things we need to consider. And changes to our voting system should be an issue we focus on right away so that we can change it before the next election in significant and meaningful ways.

it looks like the more the repubs try to prevent us from voting the more e are going to vote even if it means standing in line till one in the morning to get our vote in~scott wake up all you are doing is getting more democrate votes!

The guy should be arrested in Ohio... violating a direct order from the courts.

Is this a move to throw out all early voting provisional ballots because they don't conform to the new directive?

Betty, I am not from Florida, But I read yesterday that the Actual Ballot in Florida is long, and takes awhile to go through, Thus taking alot of time.

it is true i am from florida,the ballot is very long,,the amendments confusing,,i did research before going to vote,,i wanted to speed things,,but i am retired,it is easier,,peoples who work,,it is not easy to do so,,gov scott, he tried many things to interfere with voting,,it is not only the hours..it was id, trying to get rid of peoples,,telling them they were not citizens when they were etc,,it is horrible,,few years back the republicans were fairly decent peoples,,now the republicans we have are a disgrace,,it is not the american way,,republicans do not have integrity,,it is so populated,,there is no way the votes can be done in one day,,we need at least 6-7 days to let everyone vote,,the ballots,,some of them disappeared when it was mr gore and bush elctions,,we can not trust the honesty of anyone in florida,,the republicans mostly,,anything goes with them mr crist was honest,,after him ,,,we are in bad shape ,,

Betty, I think that's the reason why Scott has done this the way he has. The Republicans want a fiasco.

Luckily here in WI the AG was NOT able to come through with the Voter ID !! JB Van Hollen's attempt to hand WI to Lyin Ryan didn't work out as planned.

My bet is that people that don't understand amendments will vote against them or not vote on amendments at all. Then all the teapubs have to do is word it so if people vote no they are actually voting for it. Most representatives are lawyers, so that explains why they make amendments so easily misunderstood and confusing.

in florida i voted no to all amendments,i was afraid they were tricked somehow,,if we did not vote on them,,they should have counted as no,,who knows,,it is a lot of corruption in florida,,,i voted for mr obama,,,,i hope my vote will count

This will change when people decide they've had enough of such foolishness as we see in Florida. Not to mention dozens of other states.

We'll soon be voting via the Internet. Moving to a Vote By Mail System makes sense. It's time for ballot initiatives across the country to bring VBM to the rest of the country, if legislators won't do it.

Oregon was the first to do this. The change to VBM was evolutionary, not revolutionary. It didn't happen here because someone suddenly decided to impose it upon the state's residents. It happened because so many people were already voting by absentee ballot that it simply made NO SENSE to maintain dual voting systems.

Ah, we fall into Munchkin Land!!! The land of apples and oranges. Of COURSE is was WRONG to deny women and minorities the right to vote. EVERYONE had the right to vote. Democrat, Republican, white, black, yellow, green, transvestites, gay, straights, Floridian, New Yorkers..... Just tell me...ho has been denied the right to vote? You seem to be saying that some person has been told that they CAN NOT VOTE in this election.

Actually, patticakes, you seem to be in an alternate universe.

Micro asked you a valid question and you did not answer it because it would destroy your ignorant narrative.

Who has been denied the right to vote? Perhaps you should educate yourself so that you can answer your own question.

Your defense of the indefensible is really pathetic. Especially considering how ignorant you are of the issues and the facts.

Just sayin.

Again, WHO has been denied the right to cast a vaild ballot? Inconvienced, perhaps, but DENIED? It is not yet Tuesday. Tell me Wednesday who was DENIED the right to vote.

Did you miss this part? Here it is again...

Of COURSE is was WRONG to deny women and minorities the right to vote

Again, WHO has been denied the right to cast a vaild ballot?

And again: perhaps you should educate yourself so that you can answer your own question.

And it seems that you have missed the mic's point.

Again.

Sorry my dear. I am not missing the point. We are talking about EARLY voting here. You seem to be missing that. Prior to early voting coming into the picture, what happened? People went and voted on Election Day, by God! Having to go to the polls on one specific day between specific hours? The shame, the horror! Pretty soon you all will be bitching and moning that your text message vote didn't go through!

Actually, patticakes,

It is you who is missing the point:

Here, let me break it down for you(in case your playing dumb is not an act):

Micro stated:

You seem to believe that because its the "law" it is somehow justified.

And your rather ignorant defense of what Scott is doing in Florida proves that to be true.

Micro goes on:

Not too long ago, Women and African Americans were not allowed to vote because it was "the law".

Micro is giving an example of a law that was once just but was later ruled unjust.

Micro's last statement:

Was that too justified?

The answer is NO, that law was not justified. The law was wrong headed and later changed, and rightly so.

You were unable to understand what Micro was saying: the law that you are ignorantly defending is just as unjust as the law that women and African-Americans could not vote, and what Scott is doing is unjust as well.

But you missed the point mico was making.

And prior to 1996 Florida utilized absentee ballots, which is early voting. That is what they did(as well as many other states).

So many people early voted in Florida before 1996, by God!

What is shameful and horrible is your ignorance and you defending an indefensible act.

And it would be a great thing to vote by phone. But people like you would be against that, because more people would vote.

But people like you would be against that, because more people would vote.

.....which tends to favor Democrats. Go figure.

Probably a member of the Republican party made that bomb threat.