Florida governor orders voting process review
(CNN) - Gov. Rick Scott of Florida on Saturday said he requested a review of his state's voting processes with a particular emphasis on areas where voters waited four hours or longer to cast their ballots.
"We are glad that so many voters made their voices heard in this election, but as we go forward we must see improvements in our election process," Scott said in a statement. "I have asked Secretary of State Ken Detzner to review this general election and report on ways we can improve the process after all the races are certified.”
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More than 8.5 million votes were cast this year, Scott said, an increase from the approximately 8.3 million Florida ballots cast in 2008.
But last cycle, the state allowed two weeks of early voting, which was shortened this year to eight days. Election boards were permitted to schedule as little as 48 hours of early voting.
"As part of this evaluation, Secretary Detzner will meet with county election supervisors, who are elected or appointed to their position - especially those who ran elections in counties where voters experienced long lines of four hours or more," the Florida Republican said in his statement. "We need to make improvements for Florida voters and it is important to look at processes on the state and the county level. We will carefully review suggestions for bettering the voting process in our state."
President Barack Obama noted the long lines encountered by voters in several states in his election night remarks.
"I want to thank every American who participated in this election," he said in Chicago early Wednesday morning. “Whether you voted for the very first time or waited in line for a very long time - by the way, we have to fix that."
A previous review ordered by Scott drew controversy over the summer.
The governor directed that local election boards review their voter rolls and remove names of people who appeared to be ineligible.
CNN projected earlier on Saturday that Obama narrowly won the presidential race in the state.
– CNN’s Gregory Wallace and Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
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Governor, please spare the B's.
"by the way" that's considered addressing the issue?
This Governor should quit. Florida is an embarrasment for the country right now!
Good. Hopefully, we won't find out that there were far right or far left organizations trying to keep people from voting.
They shortened early voting to stifle a vote that would overwhelmingly go to Obama. Similar measures were struck down in court challenges in Ohio. If they wanted to eliminate early voting days they should have way more machines at polling places on election day. It was not a coincidence that the long lines were at places that are more Democratic. The GOP would sue and cry foul over and over if the Dems did this crap. Not saying they wouldn't because they gerrymander in the more blue states. Partisan officials should not have control over voting procedures, PERIOD.
Governor Scott only has to look in the mirror to find out why the polls were backed up. He refused to extend early voting after shortening the days available and the republicans added 10 bogus admendments to thr ballot that should have been legislative issues. Those admendments were a joke and trashed the system as planned. How does it feel to shoot yourself in the foot?
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Its been 12 years since the big mess between Al Gore and George Bush. Get your act together Florida Gov. The people of our great nation our watching and knock off the voter suppression. Try Voter Mail in ballots like we have in Oregon. You can sit down and study the issues and not be hurried and then you mail in your ballot.
I am a 66 year old Canadian who has voted in every election I have been eligible to for the last forty years...I have voted in large cities, small towns, voted early when I had to, and never spent more than ten to fifteen minutes each time..The situation in Florida is an absolute disgrace...The governor should be ashamed of himself...I hope the citizens hold him accountable...
The obvious attempt of the repub florida pols to suppress the vote didn't work. People registered and stood in line for hours to vote. You are great Americans. The repub pols not so much. And all the superpac money doesn't seem to work in a high turnout national election. Where it works is in repub primaries, where rational right of center pragmatic repubs like Dick Lugar are defeated by right wing extremists supported by koch bros-rove superpacs and an astroturf tea party in low turnout primaries. The voters who had to endure this outrage will be voters for life, as will their familiers and friends. Bad mistake repub Florida pols.
Geeze Florida! You messed up back in 2000, then in 2008, and now Again??? Do you need another state to come in and run your elections for you?
Not only did the crook Governor try to suppress the vote, he also managed to carry on the tradition of election process incompetence. Please vote this joke out of office and elect a representative of the people. We all deserve better.
Mr. Scott, people of Florida do need to review your out come to the state as well as your doings that caused this and your cronies with you. you need to be fired – put on trial for election manipulation. you are disgusting and those in your party down there.
we can't all be that stupid to not figure out what went wrong hint more early voting and /or more voting sites ( less trying to suppress the vote)
Governor Scott said: "I have asked Secretary of State Ken Detzner to review this general election and report on ways we can improve the process after all the races are certified.” Translation: In spite of how we tried to get the vote fixed for Romney, it still didn't work... we'll try harder next time...
Governor Scott said: "I have asked Secretary of State Ken Detzner to review this general election and report on ways we can improve the process after all the races are certified.” What he really meant is – In spite of how we tried to get the election fixed for Romney, it still didn't work, and we'll have to try harder next time...
This knucklehead needs to be told how to improve the process! It was his obstinance that was largely to blame for the long lines. Had he heeded the requests to extend early voting hours much of the waiting would have been eliminated.
Governor Scott said: "I have asked Secretary of State Ken Detzner to review this general election and report on ways we can improve the process after all the races are certified.” What he really meant was – although we tried to get the election rigged for Romney, it still didn't work and we will have to try harder next time...
Refusing to extend the early voting to the usual 14 days and having people wait in line for 7 hours to vote AND taking 4 days to count the votes is hardly in line with his claim to be interested in 'efficiency'. I smell Tea!
What the Governor meant was: We tried to rig the election for Romney but it didn't work, so we'll have to try harder next time.
Florida elections are a disgrace. The Governor thinks 4 hrs is acceptable? Let's try for 2. GOPers in Florida made a conscious choice to make voting difficult. They succeeded. And they still lost. Start representing the people instead of the party.
They made major cuts in the early voting hours and they are now surprised that there were long lines at the voting booths? How remarkable.... :-)
"'We did the right thing,' Scott told reporters in Orlando, Florida on Nov. 8."
If they did the right thing, then why is he calling for a review
Comical. "Governor" Scott shortened the early voting hours in an effort to supress the vote and now wants to look for ways to improve the process. Start the recall process for Scott quickly.
Gov. Scott along with the Republican Secretary of State and the Republican controlled legislature are 100% responsible for the voting problems in Florida. They did this intentionally, in hopes of providing voter suppression, so the idea that any of these people could find a solution or even want a solution is absurd. The ONLY real solution to the problem in Florida is up to the voters, by casting their future votes in state elections and removing all of the Republican controls.