Due to Legislative Inaction Florida Voters May Experience Barriers to Ballot Box
June 1, 2010
Sabrina E. Williams
202/728-9557 or 305/904-3960
(Miami, Florida)—Today, Advancement Project, a leading voter protection advocacy organization, released an issue brief examining the ramifications of the Florida legislature’s failure to enact comprehensive election reform to correct provisions of the election code that impede the ability of voters to participate in elections.
“Florida lawmakers have done a serious disservice to voters,” said Elizabeth Westfall, director of voter protection, Advancement Project. “The tendency during election years is to focus on the ‘horse race’ and candidates’ political strategies and fundraising, without a second thought as to the importance of the administration of the election itself.”
As a result of legislators’ failure to address barriers to voting, serious flaws in Florida’s election code that burden the right to vote persist due to:
- Limitations on Early Voting
- “No-Match, No-Vote” Voter Registration Law
- Extraneous Checkboxes on Voter Registration Applications
- Insufficient Restrictions on Private Challenges to Voters’ Registration
- Rejection of Provisional Ballots Cast in The Wrong Precinct
Notwithstanding the efforts of some state lawmakers to advance election reform bills in recent legislative sessions, the legislature has failed to enact comprehensive election reform to correct provisions of the election code that impede the ability of voters to participate in elections. Instead, Florida legislators enacted, and late last week Governor Crist signed into law, H.B. 131 which would harm voters with disabilities by delaying the replacement of touch screen voting machines from 2012 to 2016. The bill also removes discretion from county supervisors of elections to interpret and administer the state election code.
“In 2010, eligible voters who wish to participate in the state-wide races this fall will be forced to contend with Florida’s confusing voter registration form and it’s ‘no-match, no-vote’ law, which has blocked thousands of voters from the rolls in previous election cycles.” concluded Westfall. “Lawmakers have gone home without fixing the myriad of problems that plague the state’s election laws. Until those problems are corrected, voters should take care to submit their vote registration application, and confirm that their application has been accepted, well in advance of the registration deadline. They should also confirm the location and hours of their closest early voting site and the location of their precinct.”
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Filed under Voter Protection, Florida
