Congressional hearing examines Fla. voting law

Congressional hearing examines Fla. voting law
6:22 PM, Jan. 27, 2012

TAMPA -- A new voting law passed by the Republican controlled Florida Legislature last year will suppress the turnout of Democratic voters in the critical swing state, according to election experts and critics who testified in a congressional hearing Friday.

Democratic Sens. Bill Nelson of Florida and Dick Durbin of Illinois conducted the congressional field hearing to examine the effects of the law, which Republicans contended would stem voter fraud. Critics argue that it was designed to suppress voting by minorities, the elderly and young people who tend to vote Democratic.

Testimony centered on the sections of the law that cut the number of early voting days, put new restrictions on organizations that conduct voter registration drives, required voters who change out-of-county addresses at the polls on Election Day to cast provisional ballots, and reduced the shelf life of citizen initiative petition signatures from four to two years.

Lawsuits have been filed challenging those elements of the law, which are also being reviewed by a three-judge U.S. District Court panel in Washington.

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