Election Law @ Moritz

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Edward B. Foley
Free & Fair is a collection of writings by Edward B. Foley, one of the nation's preeminent experts on election law.

State-by-State Coverage (Florida)

Recent News & Analysis

Below are the most recent Florida News & Analysis posts. See All Florida News & Analysis

11/4/08
Election Law @ Moritz signing off

Indiana’s presidential race has only a 4,000 vote margin currently with 88% of precincts reporting.  It’s too early to know how many absentee and provisional ballots remain uncounted.  EL@M will be monitoring this race in the next day or two.  North Carolina presidential and gubernatorial races are similarly close and we will be watching these in the next couple of days.  Polling hours were extended in at least one North Carolina county.  Missouri’s presidential race is very close as well and the outcome subject to change depending on the outstanding uncounted votes. 

Voting in Florida seems to have gone relatively smoothly, perhaps because 49% of voters had already cast their ballots before polls opened today.  

There are close senate races in Minnesota and Louisiana.  Louisiana’s election in particular might experience some trouble as part of the continuing fallout from Katrina and its displaced electorate. 

Check back for more updates tomorrow. 

11/3/08
Florida Challenge Suit Resolved

Florida Dems' suit against the state GOP to protect voters from election day challenges petered out today, after Republican leaders signed sworn affidavits that they had no intention on initiating mass challenges of voters to whom the post office was unable to deliver campaign mailings. [Read More]

10/30/08
FL Dems Sue to Prevent Challenges

Florida Democrats have sued for an injunction preventing Republicans from executing alleged plans to initiate mass challenges against voters at the polls.  The Dems claim that Republicans are going to target voters whose homes have been foreclosed upon and voters from whose addresses mailings have been returned undeliverable.  Moritz is obtaining documents.  [Read Complaint].  See EL@M case page for more information and case documents. [Read More]

10/29/08
Florida election supervisors considering lawsuit over governor's order to extend early voting hours

Elections supervisors are considering filing for an injunction over the governor's order to extend early voting hours citing overworked employees as one reason they will have trouble complying.  See the Orlando Sentinel's coverage here.  Florida is one of the states that has an election-specific emergency provision granting the governor certain powers in election emergencies.  FSA 101.733.  While the governor did speak in terms of emergency in his order, the statute appears at first glance to apply to emergency conditions such as hurricanes and natural disasters.  However, the language may be interpreted to cover an "accidental" situation caused by "human beings".  It is unclear from news accounts under what authority the governor was acting and whether this statute is relevant to the analysis.  Election Law @ Moritz covered this and many other election law questions for 17 states in its Key Questions for Key States (KQKS) research project.  See the Florida analysis here.  Click here for the KQKS home page. [Read More]

10/28/08
FL Governor extends early voting hours

Florida early voting has seen some problems as a result of the huge turnout.  Governor Charlie Crist has issued an executive order requring early voting hours to be extended.  Election Law @ Moritz has researched what powers the governor or election officials have in the face of unforeseen election problems and had difficulty in most states finding definitive answers.  This step by the governor shows an awareness and willingness to take action when voters are suffering unnecessary inconvenience through no fault of their own.  [Read More]

Recent Commentary

Below are the most recent Florida Commentaries. See All Florida Commentaries

11/28/06
Congress Turns to Election Administration

One of the things that may change with the new Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress is greater attention to the mechanics of elections. In one sense, this is a welcome development. The last of the core provisions of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA) were implemented in this year's election season. It is therefore quite appropriate that this Congress devote attention to studying how well these changes worked and what might be done prospectively to make our election system function better. There is reason to be concerned, however, that this is not what the incoming congressional majority will actually do.

Recent News Stories

Below are the most recent Florida News Stories. See All Florida News Stories

9/25/09
Fla. GOP slams Crist-backed felon vote restoration

House Republican Leader Adam Hasner on Friday attacked a program that restores voting rights to most ex-felons in Florida, but ignored the fact that Republican Gov. Charlie Crist proposed it.

9/9/09
11 accused of faking voter registration cards in Miami-Dade

Eleven people hired to register potential voters in Miami-Dade County before last year's presidential election were sought Wednesday, accused of falsifying hundreds of voter registration cards.

8/5/09
How Negron’s aggressive absentee ballot campaign clinched Senate seat before election day

Who needs election day? Not Republican Joe Negron, who capitalized on absentee and early voting on his way to a landslide victory in Tuesday’s special state Senate election.

6/29/09
Watchdog group praises Florida's election practices

It's not every day that civil rights watchdogs hold up Florida as a shining model of best election practices. But this month, the Brennan Center for Justice is urging other states to follow Florida's lead, by allowing voters to update their addresses at the polls on Election Day.

6/24/09
Group faults ballot scanner for Florida overvotes

A type of ballot scanner used in 13 counties, including Pasco and Pinellas, accounts for a disproportionate number of invalid votes cast in 2008, a report from an elections watchdog group reveals.

Current Litigation

Below are the Florida Active Cases. See All Florida Current and Archived Cases