unusualmusic_lj_archive

Via: The Brad Blog

So about three years ago in Florida...

GOP's law created long voting lines
Three years ago, legislators passed a huge elections bill (HB 1567). Some changes were voter-friendly, such as allowing anyone to request an absentee ballot without having to give a reason why. The bill also limited early voting to eight hours a day, and to no more than eight hours on a weekend. That did away with 12-hour early voting sessions for people who work long hours.
The law also limited early voting sites to elections offices, libraries and city halls even though elections officials wanted to use other sites.
...Rep. Ron Reagan, R-Bradenton, said Friday. "The whole purpose behind it was to have uniformity."

Naturally...

Pinellas' early voting setup favors the GOP
By encouraging absentee ballots and limiting access to early voting, Pinellas Supervisor of Elections Deb Clark has chosen a path that favors Republicans in November's election.
[...]
Clark said there's nothing partisan about her support for absentees. They're far more convenient for voters, she said, allowing them to fill out ballots at their leisure and not worry about taking time from work or standing in line.
[...]
Clark began to experiment with early voting in 2004, after it was made an option by the state Legislature. By the 2006 primary, Pinellas offered 11 locations.
Arguing that early voting's impact on overall turnout can't justify the costs involved - roughly $250,000 for a countywide election - Clark's office largely abandoned the practice and has pushed absentee ballots.
Since the general election in 2006, early voting has been offered only at the supervisor's offices in Clearwater, Largo and St. Petersburg.
Darryl Paulson, a professor of government at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, said this probably has put Republicans over the top in some elections.
Having seen big gains in new Democratic registrations, Sen. Barack Obama is encouraging supporters to vote early.
The Obama campaign, the national president of the League of Women Voters and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor have all called on Clark to open more early voting sites, but she has stood firm.

Coping with 'a rush of voters' Election supervisors told the state Friday they're coping with the flood of early voters well, but that they never expected this many people to turn out.
"No one could have anticipated that this election would be so historic and draw as much attention as it has," said Broward elections supervisor Brenda Snipes, who posts wait times on her web site.
Snipes and Sarasota's Kathy Dent voiced opposition to expanding early voting hours next week because it would cause logistical problems.

Of Course. You believe them, don't you? That our elected officials are so fucking incompetent that they REALLY didn't see this wave of early voting coming?

Russian observers to monitor U. S. vote

Stung by international criticism of its presidential and congressional elections, Russia is striking back by sending a team of observers to monitor the U. S. presidential poll on Nov. 4.

Andrei Nesterenko, a spokesman with Russia's Foreign Ministry, says Moscow will have eight election observers attached to a monitoring mission conducted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The OSCE, which has infuriated the Kremlin in the past by criticizing elections in Russia and other post-communist states, is sending 62 election observers to the United States.

The mission, headed by Audrey Glover, the top British diplomat, includes a core of 13 international experts from the OSCE's office in Washington and 48 international observers who will be deployed in teams of two around the country.MORE

More voting fuckery in other states at the BradBLOGAbout fucking time.