Every Elections Supervisor in Florida that I've encountered in my years of reporting here has always has one overriding goal — to maximize the number of citizens to exercise their constitutional right to vote in an election.
That's because the job itself isn't partisan, though in Florida one has to run for the office as either a Democrat orRepublican (or non-party affiliated). I mention that because the two leading voices of opposition to a new directive being issued out by Secretary of State Ken Detzner are Republicans SOE's — Pasco's Brian Corley and Pinellas's Deborah Clark.
[jump]The directive, as reported by the Times' Steve Bosquet, is to impose new restrictions on how and where voters can return completed absentee ballots in future elections.
Why is this necessary?
Detzner says it's about having "uniformity" throughout the state on this particular way of voting. But was there a problem in the past? Was there anything illicit going on that demands that the state now restrict where you can turn in an absentee ballot?
Although some Republicans (Joe Scarborough and Hans von Spakovsky to name just two) are outraged when they hear Democrats and others complain about "voter suppression," just what do you call it when one party seems to have as a policy goal to try to restrict the franchise? We saw it in a number of states that went red in 2010. In the case of Florida, the elections reform bill of 2011 was so egregious that it ended up blowing up in their faces a year ago, shaming the GOP-led Legislature to scale back some of those "reforms' in the 2013 session.
Charlie Crist has certainly been all over the map on various issues over the years, but he's been fairly consistent in advocating for more opportunities to vote, not less. He tweeted last night that "this relentless attack on the people has to stop. The voters are in charge." But not in Florida, Charlie. Not in Florida.
Meanwhile, while foreign policy analysts have been commenting on whether or not they think John Kerry negotiated a good deal with Iran on restraining their nuclear program in the last 48 hours, you also had Rick Scott weighing in.....
And along with thousands of other people stressed tomorrow night about making their flights in inclement weather to get home for Thanksgiving, some civil liberties activists will be joining them at Tampa International Airport to make a statement about the TSA.