Florida: Pinellas County now ground zero in Florida’s fight over voting | Tampa Bay Times

Florida’s new battleground over voting is the unlikeliest of places: a cozy branch library in Pinellas Park. It’s one of five remote locations where Pinellas voters put absentee ballots in locked boxes under the watchful eyes of poll workers. Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark has used libraries and tax collectors’ offices as dropoff sites in the past three election cycles as a way to encourage people to vote absentee and avoid the possibility of long lines at early voting locations. Clark’s dropoff sites have become symbols of her emphasis on voting by mail or absentee over all other forms of voting. Her three early voting sites in the 2012 election were by far the fewest of any large county in Florida.

Florida: Nelson tells state Democrats to push election reform | Tampa Tribune

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson urged House Democrats to do whatever it takes to make sure proposed election reform measures pass during the 2014 legislative session. “(House Democrats should) use every parliamentary mechanism at their disposal to try to fulfill the American dream, which is the right to vote, to be able to cast that vote and have the confidence to know that when you count that vote it is going be counted as you intended,” he said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon. Nelson, an Orlando-area Democrat, met with state lawmakers Wednesday to discuss election reform measures. He spent about 15 minute talking with House Democrats before heading over the Senate to speak with Senate Democrats.

Florida: State’s new estimated cost for special elections: $2.1 million and growing | Naples Daily News

The state’s total cost for special elections has increased from $500,000 to $2.1 million, according to state budget staff. When a special election is needed, local election officials pick up the initial cost. After a verification process, the state is required to reimburse local supervisors of elections for the cost needed to conduct those elections. When the Department of State made its initial budget request in January, it thought $500,000 would be enough to cover the tab. It’s the same number requested in Gov. Rick Scott’s proposed budget. The House’s proposed budget has requested $2.1 million in already needed reimbursements, while the Senate wants $2.6 million for any potential future special elections.

Florida: Orange County’s Hispanic voting rights fight moves to court | Orlando Sentinel

The Hispanic community’s struggle to gain political power in Orange County in recent years moves to a federal courtroom this week. For the first time since a voting rights lawsuit was filed in 2012, both sides will meet Thursday before Chief Judge Anne C. Conway. The case pits area Latino residents and a national civil rights group against elected leaders who created political boundaries that plaintiffs claim “illegally dilutes the voting rights of Latinos in Orange County.” Meanwhile, local Republicans on the County Commission have signaled they may be open to a potential solution that would expand the county’s current lineup of six districts to eight, possibly giving Hispanics a better shot to win a seat.

Florida: State takes its time with lists of suspected ineligible voters | The News-Press

Seven months after Gov. Rick Scott announced a new purge of Florida’s voting rolls, county supervisors of elections are still waiting for the state to provide them with lists of suspected ineligible voters. The purge isn’t on hold, the state just isn’t in a hurry. “We do not have a set timeline to start the proposed process,” Florida Department of State spokeswoman Brittany Lesser said Friday. Meanwhile, midterm elections and Scott’s bid for a second term approach. It’s too late for such a purge to affect Southwest Florida’s special election to fill Trey Radel’s congressional seat. Radel resigned Jan. 27 after pleading guilty to cocaine possession and serving a stint in rehab. Ineligible voters would have to be removed by 90 days before a federal election, according to federal law.

Florida: Leon County Commission OKs money to buy new voting machines | Tallahassee Democrat

At Tuesday’s County Commission meeting, a proposal to fund $1.98 million for new voting machines pitted Leon County Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho and two commissioners on opposite ends. A brief heated exchange erupted between Sancho and Commissioner Bryan Desloge, who expressed strong hesitance to approve a no-bid vendor contract for 250 new hybrid voting machines that can be independently used by all voters, including those with varying disabilities. Erring on the side of transparency, Desloge and Commissioner John Dailey favored the county issue a request for proposals. Sancho explained only one company in the nation manufactures a modern voting machine to meet the needs of all voters, instead of using separate devices. Sancho said a request for proposals would result in the same company being picked and delay having devices in hand by November’s election.

Florida: First Step To Online Voter Registration In Florida, Bill Moves Forward | Daily Business Review

A Senate committee moved forward with a bill that would allow online voter registration in Florida and put new restrictions on drop-off locations for absentee ballots. The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee unanimously approved introducing the measure (SPB 7068), which will still have to return to the panel for another vote. Because of that, Democrats backed away from offering amendments that could still become flashpoints in the debate over the measure. Much of the controversy over the provisions in the bill focused on language that would allow elections supervisors to provide secure boxes to receive absentee ballots, but only at early-voting locations and supervisor of elections’ offices.

Florida: Voting bill would allow on-line registration; restrict absentee drop-off locations | Palm Beach Post

A Florida Senate committee Monday moved forward with a bill that would make a few changes in Florida election law, including putting new restrictions on drop-off locations for absentee ballots and allowing online voter registration in the state. The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee unanimously approved introducing the measure (SPB 7068), which will still have to return to the panel for another vote. Because of that, Democrats backed away from offering amendments that could still become flash points in the debate over the measure. Much of the controversy over the provisions in the bill focused on language that would allow elections supervisors to provide secure boxes to receive absentee ballots, but only at early-voting locations and supervisor of elections’ offices.

Florida: Senate bill puts absentee ballot dropoff sites in cross hairs | Tampa Bay Times

At the urging of state Sen. Jack Latvala, the Senate will take up voting law changes that include preventing counties from using satellite locations where voters can drop off absentee ballots. The proposal is aimed at Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark, but it antagonized two other supervisors who say dropoff sites save money and are convenient for voters. The Senate plan follows a confrontation in December between Clark and Gov. Rick Scott’s top elections official, Secretary of State Ken Detzner, who ordered an end to dropoff sites because no law allows it. Clark continues to defy the directive and is using five sites in the Congressional District 13 special election.

Florida: New details emerge in North Miami absentee-ballot requests case | MiamiHerald.com

Nacivre Charles sat behind the wheel of a black 2008 Toyota Tundra in Miami late last year when police pulled him over. It was no routine traffic stop. The cops knew Charles, a 56-year-old political operative known as “Charlie,” was driving with a suspended license. Yet that’s not why they had been secretly trailing him. They were after evidence of attempted elections mischief. In the SUV, officers found numerous Miami-Dade County absentee-ballot request forms. The same day, investigators raided the private business office of Lucie Tondreau in connection with 60 unlawful absentee-ballot requests submitted online. The recently elected North Miami mayor had paid Charles to be her campaign treasurer.

Florida: State nixes UF student union as early voting site | Miami Herald

Election supervisors and the League of Women Voters have a new complaint with Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature over early voting. After years of complaints by supervisors who struggled with historically long lines at the polls in 2012, lawmakers last year expanded the list of early voting sites to include fairgronds, civic centers, courthouses, county commission buildings, stadiums, convention centers and government-owned community centers. But when the city of Gainesville — which is heavily Democratic — asked if it could use the University of Florida student union for early voting in next month’s municipal elections, the state said no. “The Reitz Union is a structure designed for, and affiliated with, a specific educational institution,” says an advisory opinion from Maria Matthews, director of the state Division of Elections, which is run by a Scott appointee, Secretary of State Ken Detzner. “The terms ‘convention center’ and ‘government-owned community center’ cannot be construed so broadly as to include the Reitz Union.”

Florida: Campaign site misleads man into donating money against Sink | Tampa Bay Times

Ray Bellamy said he wanted to make a political contribution to Alex Sink a Google search landed him at “http://contribute.sinkforcongress2014.com.” “It looked legitimate and had a smiling face of Sink and all the trappings of a legitimate site,” Bellamy, a doctor from Tallahassee who follows Florida politics, wrote in an email to the Buzz. (Here’s Sink’s actual site, which uses a similar color scheme.) What Bellamy overlooked was that the site is designed to raise money against Sink. “I failed to notice the smaller print: Under “Alex Sink Congress” was the sentence ‘Make a contribution today to help defeat Alex Sink and candidates like her,’ ” he said.

Florida: Miami-Dade delays drawing new election precincts — again | Miami Herald

Miami-Dade voters endured lines up to seven hours long during the last presidential election in part because the county delayed a key once-a-decade decision to evenly divide voters among precincts. Now, with a looming gubernatorial election in November, the county plans to delay the decision once again. Mayor Carlos Gimenez and his appointed elections supervisor, Penelope Townsley, said Thursday they have decided to push back “re-precincting” until early 2015. The reason: The county thinks the reshuffle would be too much to handle in the same year that Miami-Dade plans to install new electronic sign-in books at every polling place. “We’re trying to cram in too much at one time,” Gimenez told his elections advisory group Thursday. “We don’t want to create that confusion.” That’s the same reason Gimenez and Townsley, after consulting with county commissioners, decided against the new precincts in early 2012. The uneven distribution contributed to the long lines, as did the 10- to 12-page ballot and fewer early-voting days.

Florida: Special election for Radel seat to cost thousands | WINK

WINK News has confirmed that Governor Scott will call for a special election to fill Radel’s seat, but how much could it cost you the taxpayer? As Radel steps down, many are wondering when we could see a new representative in office. The Collier County Supervisor of Elections says that’s up to the governor. “The challenge here is once the date is determined, just getting everything in motion,” said Edwards. Edwards says the election will be treated like any other. Qualifying rounds, a two party primary if necessary, and a general election.

Florida: Fights continue over voting rules in Florida | Orlando Sentinel

Florida elections officials predict that a new round of reforms should make voting in November a breeze compared with 2012, when tens of thousands of residents were forced to wait seven hours or longer to cast a ballot. But the changes, which include more days of early voting, don’t signal a truce in the fight over Florida elections. From Congress to the courts, activists of all stripes continue to battle over voting rules. The outcome of those fights could affect how — and which — Floridians go to the polls in 2014 and beyond. One flash point is voting rights for ex-convicts. Florida is one of just a few states that prohibit felons from voting once their sentences are complete. Instead, they must wait at least five years before they can apply to a state clemency board to have their rights restored.

Florida: Voting Rights Changes Would Not Impact Florida | NorthEscambia.com

A proposed overhaul of the Voting Rights Act that would essentially revive the process of “preclearance” would leave Florida out of the list of states that would have to get federal approval for changes to elections procedures, a scenario that concerns some voting-rights advocates. Voting-rights groups, many of which have been involved in recent legal battles over elections issues in Florida, largely support the bill, introduced by a bipartisan group of U.S. House and Senate members. But they note that the process in the bill for selecting which states are required to gain preclearance would not include Florida or several other jurisdictions that were included under an old formula. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down as antiquated the formula Congress established in the 2006 version of the law to single out so-called “covered jurisdictions.” That formula, based on data from the 1960s and 1970s, was used to decide which parts of the country must submit almost any changes in voting laws or practices to the federal government for approval — the process known as preclearance.

Florida: Voter Purge 2.0 | Pensacola News Journal

Sparking howls from Democrats and the NAACP, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner said last week that his office soon would begin Voter Purge 2.0, by sending local supervisors of elections the names of voters who might not be citizens. Who could disagree with the idea that only eligible citizens should vote? But there is more to the issue. First, the purge is a solution in search of a problem. The number of noncitizens registered to vote is minuscule, mostly because there is no incentive for intentional fraud. What immigrant would risk deportation for the small reward of casting one vote? In fact, “The Truth About Voter Fraud,” a 2007 report by Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School, stated: “We are not aware of any documented cases in which individual noncitizens have either intentionally registered to vote or voted while knowing that they were ineligible.”

Florida: Miami-Dade mayor overturns elections supervisor, will keep key absentee ballot information public | Miami Herald

Miami-Dade County will no longer block the public from obtaining key information that has helped detect attempted voting fraud. Overturning a decision by his appointed elections supervisor, Mayor Carlos Gimenez said Thursday that Internet Protocol addresses for absentee-ballot requests submitted online are public record. Gimenez explained his position in a memo to Commissioner Xavier Suarez, who had asked the mayor to use his executive authority to make the IP addresses available. Supervisor of Elections Penelope Townsley had said she would keep them secret. Gimenez and Townsley both said Thursday they had spoken earlier and agreed to the policy change. “

Florida: Revamped voting roll scrub soon to begin | Tampa Tribune

The state will soon begin forwarding the names of suspected non-citizens on the voter rolls to local elections officials, formally kicking off the second version of Gov. Rick Scott’s controversial scrubbing program, Secretary of State Ken Detzner said Tuesday. “We’ll start shortly after the first of the year, on a case-by-case basis, reviewing files and then forwarding them down to the supervisors,” Detzner said after an event closing out the state’s recognition of the 500th anniversary of Juan Ponce de Leon’s landing in Florida. The state has been working to finalize a procedure for using a federal list to vet registered voters since 2012, when it first struck a deal with the Department of Homeland Security over the use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, database. Now, the final steps of putting that process in place are close. Detzner’s office has sent a proposed template for a “memorandum of agreement” to the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections, the organization that represents county election chiefs. The organization is expected to respond to the state over the next week or two.

Florida: Oops! Lawmakers destroyed redistricting records | Orlando Sentinel

n new court filings, House and Senate Republican leaders are conceding they deleted records related to the 2012 re-drawing of congressional and legislative maps. The voting-rights groups — including the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, and individual voters — challenging Florida’s re-drawn congressional maps notified a Leon County court Wednesday that they intended to place House and Senate officials under oath to find out what documents were destroyed and why. “The admission that redistricting records were destroyed should have Florida voters up in arms,” League President Deirdre Macnab said in a statement. But House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, shot back that the “accusation that the Florida House … thwarted the law and destroyed documents is completely false.” “The opponents in this lawsuit have received thousands and thousands of documents,” Weatherford said. “They should know better.”

Florida: Elections chief faults report listing county among worst offenders | Gainesville.com

A progressive watchdog group named Alachua County the state’s fourth-worst election offender in terms of election administration in a new report, but Supervisor of Elections Pam Carpenter contends its conclusions are flawed. The Center for American Progress Action Fund this week released the report, titled “Florida’s Worst Election Offenders.” The report evaluated Florida’s 40 most populous counties on various factors from the 2012 general election, including provisional ballots cast and rejected, absentee ballots rejected and voter turnout. While the report acknowledged Florida counties had to deal last year with restrictive state election laws, it named six that stood out for their failure to ensure residents could effectively and freely vote. Alachua placed fourth behind Columbia, Putnam and Bay counties. It pointed to Alachua County’s rate of removal for registered voters from its voting lists and its issuance of provisional ballots as red flags. The county eliminated a higher percentage of registered voters from its rolls than any county other than Hillsborough — a figure almost twice the state average — and issued the state’s third-highest percentage of provisional ballots to voters.

Florida: Bills aim to expand voting rights of military members away from home | BizPac Review

Americans in uniform who are putting the most at risk to defend the country might have the least say in how the home front is governed under current election law. Two bills, SB 486 filed Monday by Florida state Sen. Greg Evers, R-Baker, and HB 215 filed earlier by state Rep. Doug Broxson, R-Midway, are aiming to change that. The bills would enable Florida election supervisors to count the absentee votes of members of the military on non-candidate elections, such as ballot initiatives, constitutional amendment proposals and judicial retention. The bills are part of a natural evolution to “fully enfranchise” members of the military who are serving away from home, said Okaloosa County Elections Supervisor Paul Lux. Before 2010, members of the military using federal absentee ballots were restricted to voting in federal elections: president, Senate, and House of Representatives.

Florida: Pinellas County supervisor, Detzner resolve dispute | Florida Courier

Secretary of State Ken Detzner and Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark appear to have resolved their differences over where absentee ballots can be collected in the special election to replace the late Congressman C.W. Bill Young. According to a letter from Detzner to Clark released late Tuesday, the two spoke earlier in the day and Detzner will not take the dispute to court to try to enforce a directive ordering supervisors that they should only accept completed absentee ballots at their offices. “Again, as we discussed earlier, we believe that your quick work to amend your voting security procedures is essential prior to a single-county Special Election for Congressional District 13,” Detzner wrote. “I do not see the need for any further legal action at this time.”

Florida: U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson charges Gov. Rick Scott’s administration with voter suppression | Sun Sentinel

Even as Gov. Rick Scott’s top elections official suddenly backed away from a plan to restrict the way voters can return completed absentee ballots, Florida’s top Democrat accused the Scott administration of attempting to suppress voter turnout. “It’s patently obvious. It’s an attempt to suppress the vote by people who otherwise might have difficulty getting to the polls on Election Day,” said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., at a news conference Wednesday at the Palm Beach County Elections Office headquarters. Americans’ right to vote is “precious” and guaranteed by the Constitution, Nelson said. “When you start making it more difficult to cast that ballot, that is interfering with that constitutional right.”

Florida: Scott’s administration eases showdown over Pinellas election | Tampa Bay Times

With furor growing over his surprise announcement of new restrictions on the handling of absentee ballots, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner did Tuesday what critics say he should have done in the first place. He talked to a supervisor of elections — in particular, Deborah Clark of Pinellas County. And later Tuesday night, Detzner followed up with a letter to Clark suggesting he is satisfied with her work to make sure absentee ballots will be secure in Pinellas County’s upcoming special congressional election to replace the late C.W. Bill Young. Detzner also signaled he has no interest in upping the ante on a controversy that is pitting elected officials from around Florida against Gov. Rick Scott’s administration. “I do not see the need for any further legal action at this time,” concluded Detzner, Scott’s top elections official. But neither did he suggest any change to the new statewide directive announced last week.

Florida: Pinellas supervisor bucks Secretary of State Detzner’s directive on absentee ballots | Palm Beach Post

With a special election for a Pinellas County congressional seat looming, the county’s elections chief has signaled she will defy a directive issued by Secretary of State Ken Detzner on where voters can deliver absentee ballots. The standoff, which once again pits Gov. Rick Scott’s secretary of state against independent county elections supervisors, could ultimately end up in court. The wrangling comes little more than a month before a Jan. 14 primary in the campaign to replace the late Congressman C.W. Bill Young, who died in October. The general election is slated for March 11. Detzner issued the directive Nov. 25, in response to what his office said are questions from some county supervisors about new language in the state’s voter-registration guide telling voters not to return their completed absentee ballots to early voting locations.

Florida: State’s absentee order irks Volusia election official | News-Journal

The latest election-related demand from Gov. Rick Scott’s secretary of state — a directive this week ordering officials to stop accepting voters’ absentee ballots at drop-off sites — didn’t go over well with elections supervisors or voting-rights activists. Then again, not much of what Secretary of State Ken Detzner has proposed to reform voting in Florida has gone over well with those groups. Particularly not with Volusia elections supervisor Ann McFall. “This is the bully pulpit that the supervisors have found themselves dealing with,” McFall said of Detzner’s new order — one she said her election workers might not even comply with. “I’d be willing to challenge it,” she added. “I feel that strongly about it.”

Florida: Is Special Election Imminent After Trey Radel’s Arrest? | Sunshine State News

U.S. Rep. Trey Radel, R-Fla., caused a commotion after word got out that he had been arrested in Washington, D.C., at the end of October for possession of cocaine. Radel was charged with misdemeanor possession of cocaine in D.C. Superior Court on Tuesday. He pleaded guilty on Wednesday and was sentenced to one year of probation. Radel could have faced a maximum of 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.  Shortly after news of his arrest hit, Radel issued a statement apologizing for his actions. … Although Radel said he needed help, he did not mention resigning from the House in his statement. But his arrest could ultimately prove problematic for Radel, who has been in office for less than a year.

Florida: Detzner claims one of “main functions” of SAVE is to check voter registration. But that’s not what DHS data shows. | Miami Herald

Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner has been on a public relations mission to defend his plan to use federal Homeland Security data to search for noncitizens on the voting rolls. The key to the revamped process is using a federal resource of data, called the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE. Detzner defended the use of SAVE for voter registration purposes during a Nov. 4 hearing before the Senate committee on ethics and elections. He said using SAVE to check voter registration is one of its primary uses.

Florida: Detzner continues to push voter purge by a different name | Miami Herald

The Secretary of State doesn’t call his plan to remove ineligible voters from the rolls a “purge” or “scrub.” “List management” is Ken Detzner’s preferred terminology. But the plan is still raising the ire of Democrats, and supervisors of elections continue to express concerns. Many Democrats believe that Detzner is trying to solve an issue that doesn’t exist while ignoring more pressing elections and voting issues. “Has there been a clamoring from supervisors?” Rep. Mike Clelland, D-Lake Mary, asked during Tuesday’s House Ethics and Elections Subcommittee hearing.