03/05/2013 (3) - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Recommendations for Increased Accessibility & Efficiency in Florida Elections Florida Department of State D. Absentee Ballots The 2012 General Election featured a record number of absentee ballots cast, with nearly 2.4 million. Absentee ballots are an effective way to relieve pressure at polling places during the early voting period and on Election Day. However, as the demand for absentee ballots increases, steps must be taken to relieve the pressure they put on supervisors of elections to provide and canvass these ballots in a timely manner. Some supervisors of elections not only had problems with contractors handling the mailing of the absentee ballots on a timely basis, but also had delays with the U.S. Postal Service in the mailing and delivery of the ballots. Additionally, some supervisors of elections did not anticipate and were not prepared for the large number of voters seeking to cast"in-person absentee"ballots at the supervisor's office instead of voting a regular ballot at an early voting or Election Day location. The increase of"in-person absentee" voting can primarily be attributed to political activism and the media attention created by a lawsuit asking Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties to offer"in-person absentee" voting, although the law already allowed the counties to do so. The simultaneous casting of"in-person absentee"ballots and early voting occurring at the supervisors of elections' offices created confusion and long lines. In effect, voters were using "in-person absentee"ballots as a substitute for early voting or as an alternative to going to their precinct. Absentee ballots require additional time to canvass compared to regular ballots because absentee ballots must be individually reviewed by a canvassing board to ensure every signature matches a voter's signature on file. A supervisor of elections is typically one of the three members on a canvassing board and the additional time he or she must spend canvassing absentee ballots is less time the supervisor has to administer the election. Supervisors of elections may begin canvassing ballots 15 days prior to Election Day. In some cases, counties will have already received tens of thousands of absentee ballots by this date. For supervisors to be best prepared for Election Day, absentee ballots should be nearly, if not entirely, counted by the Sunday before Election Day. However, this may not be logistically possible under current law for some counties. Furthermore, the significant increase of regular and "in-person absentee"ballots required many supervisors to continue canvassing absentee ballots days after Election Day. Due to the close margin of votes between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney, the media was highly critical of Florida's inability to have all of its absentee ballots counted on Election Day, even though this is not required by law. The first unofficial report of General Election results is not due until the fourth day after an election. As a result of the continued canvassing of absentee ballots, however, the media falsely reported Florida was the last state to finish counting ballots. The reality is that many states were counting ballots after Florida, but their margin of victory was enough for the media to "call"those elections. E. Election Administration Even when a state has the best election laws possible, it requires the proper administration of those election laws at the local level to have a successful election. For this reason, supervisors of elections have a responsibility to make the proper preparations for an election and their county 13- F ' 6