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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJudge Orders 1 Fla. County to EXTEND Early Voting
A judge extended early voting hours in one Florida county on Sunday after the state Democratic Party sued in an effort to give people more time at the polls. Some voters had faced waits several hours long on Saturday, the last scheduled day of early voting. The judge ruled on a lawsuit filed late Saturday in Orange County after an early voting site was shut down for several hours. The Winter Park library was evacuated when a suspicious package a cooler was found outside. It was later detonated by a local bomb squad. Bill Cowles, the Orange County elections supervisor, said that voters who show up on Sunday will be asked to use a provisional ballot because the Republican Party of Florida had appealed the decision. The extra hours will be offered at just the Winter Park library.The state party also filed a federal lawsuit Sunday morning seeking more voting time in Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Voting in Miami-Dade County didn't wrap up until around 1 a.m. Sunday because voters standing in line when the polls closed were allowed to vote. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson as well as other Democrats asked Gov. Rick Scott this past week to use his emergency powers to extend early voting. The Republican-controlled Florida Legislature last year cut the number of days available for early voting from a maximum of 14 days to eight days. Scott and state election officials, however, turned down the extension requests. Secretary of State Ken Detzner maintained that there was not a true emergency that justified the extension.
The federal lawsuit says counties should offer absentee ballot voting at local election offices if early voting cannot be extended. Christina White, deputy supervisor with Miami-Dade County, said the county had already planned to accept absentee ballots for four hours at its main office. "That's a service we already provided," White said. "We are hoping that (the Democratic Party) is happy with that." Absentee ballot voting differs from early voting in that voters must fill out their ballot, place it an envelope and then sign it. The ballot envelopes are opened later and then fed into voting machines. During early voting, voters place their ballots directly into the voting machines.
The Orange County lawsuit asked that early voting be extended at Winter Park and that the court ask local television and radio stations to let voters know about it. The lawsuit included sworn statements from several voters who said they waited in line for hours and were turned away because voting was suspended at the site. A volunteer with the campaign of President Barack Obama said that the crowd of voters dwindled from 300 to just 40 after voting was halted.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/fla-democrats-early-voting-extended-county-17636899#.UJaSroaQmuI

Ian David
(69,059 posts)WillyT
(72,631 posts)


LisaL
(46,989 posts)What if republican's party appeal works? Make him accept either regular or absentee ballots.
William769
(56,707 posts)DirkGently
(12,151 posts)Baitball Blogger
(49,097 posts)So I've been told.
LisaL
(46,989 posts)They will be voting on provisional ballots, which might or might not count.
Baitball Blogger
(49,097 posts)They don't want the provisional ballots.
I went to a party in W.P. two Christmas agos. They guy who hosted the party was a recent member of the GOP. He's the one who told me about the political affiliaiton. It's very high real estate.
SickOfTheOnePct
(7,639 posts)The Republicans are appealing the additional hours, which is why the provisional ballots are being used. The Republicans aren't appealing the provisional ballots themselves.
Baitball Blogger
(49,097 posts)of Democrats?
I could understand their reasoning twenty years ago when there was an area near the Mall that consisted of mostly lower income black families. But the real estate moguls have steadily pushed them out. So I don't know what the GOP is looking at.
SickOfTheOnePct
(7,639 posts)Per the story, the Republicans are appealing the decision to keep the early voting open, not the decision to issue provisional ballots.
Baitball Blogger
(49,097 posts)LisaL
(46,989 posts)Provisional ballot decision is no good.
Baitball Blogger
(49,097 posts)are strong in numbers? Let's start with that.
SickOfTheOnePct
(7,639 posts)would be that they feel they need to oppose ALL extensions of early voting. If they go along with it in Orange county, even if it helps them, they have no real excuse for going against it in counties where it would hurt them, such as Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.
What they would gain in Orange county is far less than what they would lose in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.
Baitball Blogger
(49,097 posts)Because early voting favors Dems. They figure they'll pick up their Republican voters on election day.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)Winter Park is highly Republican. But the Republican strategy about shortening hours doesn't limit itself to Democrat areas. They think they benefit from less voting, period. Thus Rick Scott's cutting extended voting in half, statewide.
Baitball Blogger
(49,097 posts)Joe the Revelator
(14,915 posts)....I'll take your word for it!
Baitball Blogger
(49,097 posts)On top of that, we're talking about one of the highest clusters of wealthy people in that zip code.
The only thing that would make sense is if that precinct includes the homes in the section near the Mall which was once heavily populated with lower income black families. But that was years ago. That area has steadily been taken over by $$.
LisaL
(46,989 posts)If they didn't appeal, there would be no need for provisional ballots.
Baitball Blogger
(49,097 posts)Is there any way to know what the break down of Dems to Repubs in that area?