Romney visits Florida as early voting gets underway
Pensacola, Florida (CNN) - As Republican nominee Mitt Romney campaigns across the Sunshine State Saturday, eight days of early voting also gets underway.
Early voting is starting a week later than it did four years ago. The number of early voting days in Florida was reduced from 14 to eight following a move last year by the Republican dominated state legislature.
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The new state law requires a minimum of 48 hours of early voting, with a maximum of 96 hours. Early voting will end next Saturday, after state lawmakers eliminated early voting on the last Sunday before the election. While many larger counties are scheduling the full 96 hours of early voting, many smaller counties will offer less time.
Republican Gov. Rick Scott's administration spent the past year defending the new shortened eight-day schedule from lawsuits that claimed them move was a GOP push to lower voter turnout.
Romney teams up with Republican Sen. Marco Rubio at three events Saturday: Pensacola, Kissimmee, and Land O' Lakes.
President George W. Bush won Florida in his 2004 re-election, but Obama narrowly captured the state in his 2008 victory over Sen. John McCain. This cycle Florida, where 29 electoral votes are up for grabs, has been getting tons of attention during the general election, with the candidates making frequent visits to the Sunshine State.
The Obama and Romney campaigns are also spending big bucks on get out the vote efforts and to run television commercials in the state. The two presidential campaigns, the party committees, and the super PACs and other independent groups supporting the candidates have shelled out more than $130 million to run ads on broadcast TV in Florida since April 10, the unofficial start of the general election. That's according to data provided to its clients by Campaign Media Analysis Group (CMAG), which tracks campaign advertising.
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@Sueb
I lived in Florida for 10 years also and have family ALL over that state. They can't stand Willard or Ryan and will be supporting the president 150%.
Mom's still waiting to receive her absentee ballot from Florida. Maybe she shouldn't have said she was a Democrat in a Gulf Coast district. Maybe she shouldn't have come back north aftter her illness.
@Gurgyl
Mitt bans SS and Medicare.
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No he doesn't. That's an outright lie. Do some research.
jason carpenter
I live one city away from the rally and I'm just sitting here laughing because he is really trying to win undecided voters in one of the most conservative areas in the country.
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Yet, we're being told by the media he is a "shoe-in".