Florida - Early Voting Report - still huge lines! GOP says early voting cost too much money !!

[demo dutch]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/10/23
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Saying early voting cost too much money with rules that weren't uniform, Republican legislators led a charge three years ago to set new statewide standards limiting the number of polling sites and their hours of operation. Those revamped rules trimmed early voting from 12 hours per workday to eight.
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After first try on Sunday when I had to leave the line because of the 3 hour wait, my husband and I

showed up this morning at our early voting location, a little before the polls opened at 10AM in Palm Beach County. We're estimating that there were approx 75 people already waiting and the line was growing rapidly. It took about 1 hour and 15 min to get thru the line. By the time I left I'm estimating the line was well over a hundred people.

There were many seniors in line some in wheelchairs and walkers and thank god there were some chairs for them to be able to sit down as the line snake into the parking lot. Palm Beach county switched to paper ballots this year from electronic voting machines, and so early voters are waiting for hours to cast their ballots as a result of the transition.

However, EACH early voting precinct in Palm Beach county has been alloted with ONLY 2 printers and so since an individual paper ballot has to be printed out for EACH voter. This is the primary cause for for the huge wait. Several people in line had attempted to vote early last week or over the weekend and had to come back because of the wait. At least Palm beach has early voting on both Saturday and Sunday if only from 10AM - till 2PM.

For the rest the process was very organized, tons of poll workers. Lots of Obama volunteers in the parking lot.

But here's the problems, today, early voting sites are limited to eight hours on weekdays and a total of eight aggregate hours on weekends. Each county supervisor of election makes up their own early voting times within these hour limits.
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For example in Miami-Dade, polls open at 7AM but close at 3PM (If you work and have kids, note that schools start at 8AM, and you work a full day, you're shit out of luck! the only option is to stand in line during the weekend when the wait have as long as 5 to 6 hours (Broward) and not all counties are open both days!

I see it this way... they can in essence manipulate the hours to benefit their political preference and thus an effort to disenfranchise Dem voters

[bullimiami]

1. democrats have learned that one of the many schemes to supress votes

has been to screw up the democratic precincts on election day.

fool us once ...

[Roland99]

2. Election Day should be Election Weekend

Or at least a Federal Holiday where *everything* shuts down for the day. NO ONE works except those at the voting precincts.

[elocs]

6. In America there is never a time when *everything* shuts down for the day

and when NO ONE works many people rather than chose to vote will go on vacation. "Thanks for the days off".

[kenny blankenship]

3. That's like saying voting costs too much money, so we can't have democracy.

Or, we can have a democracy with voting, but working people, who can't set their own hours, need not apply.

[demosincebirth]

4. No amount of money should be spared to make sure

that everyone who wants to vote, votes.

[Diamonique]

5. Repubs are disgusting.

They have to print each ballot individually? WTF?