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Posted on Thu, Feb. 17, 2005
Bush seeks more control
Supervisors, lawmakers skeptical
By Gary Fineout
CAPITOL BUREAU
[B]In a move that would dramatically increase state control of elections, Gov. Jeb Bush and the state elections office will ask the Legislature for greater authority, including the ability to decide which voters should be purged from voting rolls.[/B]
The secretary of state, who is appointed by the governor, also would be given strong enforcement powers, including the authority to seek criminal charges and fines up to $5,000 against any of the state's 67 election supervisors - most of whom are elected - who fail to follow orders.
On Wednesday, the governor's office and the Department of State defended the measures, included in two separate bills, saying they would bring Florida into compliance with federal election laws and ensure that voters are treated uniformly across the state.
"This is just Florida continuing to look at ways to improve our election process," said Jacob DiPietre, a spokesman for Bush. "The secretary of state is the chief election official of the state and has an obligation and duty to enforce election laws."
But the proposals have roiled many of the state's election supervisors, who learned about them earlier this week. They also have drawn fire from Democrats and skepticism from the two Republicans who lead the Legislature.
House Speaker Allan Bense and Senate President Tom Lee said they were unaware of the legislation and are open to discussing it with the governor's office and the secretary of state. But both said they are concerned about giving that much control to the state.
"At first blush it looks like this requirement or power being sought by the secretary of state seems a little aggressive and a bit paternalistic for my taste," said Lee, "especially since it is a power being sought over constitutional officers at the local level."
Mark Anderson, the Republican elections supervisor in Bay County, questioned whether the measures are necessary: "I thought we had an excellent election and we didn't have any issues. Why would we need this?"
Leon County Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho, who has no party affiliation, was more blunt: "I guess this is our reward for Florida getting it right. They say they were doing this to protect the supervisors. A lot of the supervisors were angry and felt they had been blindsided by a power grab."
The lengthy bills drawn up by the Department of State and the governor's office cover everything from a new statewide voter-registration system required under federal law to changing the standards for early voting, voter-registration drives and gathering signatures for proposed constitutional amendments.
But the two biggest changes place complete control of voter registration rolls into the state's hands, and give more power to the state to order supervisors to follow state orders.
The state would determine voter eligibility and decide whether to purge someone from the rolls, including convicted felons whose civil rights have not been restored. Under current law, the state draws up a felons-purge list, but it is left to supervisors to purge voters from the rolls.
The state would gain this authority even though it was forced last summer to scuttle its felons list after news organizations showed it was riddled with errors, among them the exclusion of Hispanic felons. State officials contend the new system won't repeat those mistakes, but some Democratic lawmakers remain unconvinced.
"I think the state showed gross incompetence with the felons list last time and I'm very skeptical why they would have the sole power and only power" to purge the rolls, said House Democratic Leader Chris Smith of Fort Lauderdale.
The other change is a response to the limited control that the state now has over elections. One example: After a disastrous primary election in 2002, the governor threatened to suspend Miriam Oliphant, then elections supervisor in Broward, for problems at the polls. Short of threats, the governor had little authority to do anything to bring the recalcitrant elections chief in line. He eventually suspended Oliphant, an action that is still under appeal.
Bush seeks more control
Supervisors, lawmakers skeptical
By Gary Fineout
CAPITOL BUREAU
[B]In a move that would dramatically increase state control of elections, Gov. Jeb Bush and the state elections office will ask the Legislature for greater authority, including the ability to decide which voters should be purged from voting rolls.[/B]
The secretary of state, who is appointed by the governor, also would be given strong enforcement powers, including the authority to seek criminal charges and fines up to $5,000 against any of the state's 67 election supervisors - most of whom are elected - who fail to follow orders.
On Wednesday, the governor's office and the Department of State defended the measures, included in two separate bills, saying they would bring Florida into compliance with federal election laws and ensure that voters are treated uniformly across the state.
"This is just Florida continuing to look at ways to improve our election process," said Jacob DiPietre, a spokesman for Bush. "The secretary of state is the chief election official of the state and has an obligation and duty to enforce election laws."
But the proposals have roiled many of the state's election supervisors, who learned about them earlier this week. They also have drawn fire from Democrats and skepticism from the two Republicans who lead the Legislature.
House Speaker Allan Bense and Senate President Tom Lee said they were unaware of the legislation and are open to discussing it with the governor's office and the secretary of state. But both said they are concerned about giving that much control to the state.
"At first blush it looks like this requirement or power being sought by the secretary of state seems a little aggressive and a bit paternalistic for my taste," said Lee, "especially since it is a power being sought over constitutional officers at the local level."
Mark Anderson, the Republican elections supervisor in Bay County, questioned whether the measures are necessary: "I thought we had an excellent election and we didn't have any issues. Why would we need this?"
Leon County Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho, who has no party affiliation, was more blunt: "I guess this is our reward for Florida getting it right. They say they were doing this to protect the supervisors. A lot of the supervisors were angry and felt they had been blindsided by a power grab."
The lengthy bills drawn up by the Department of State and the governor's office cover everything from a new statewide voter-registration system required under federal law to changing the standards for early voting, voter-registration drives and gathering signatures for proposed constitutional amendments.
But the two biggest changes place complete control of voter registration rolls into the state's hands, and give more power to the state to order supervisors to follow state orders.
The state would determine voter eligibility and decide whether to purge someone from the rolls, including convicted felons whose civil rights have not been restored. Under current law, the state draws up a felons-purge list, but it is left to supervisors to purge voters from the rolls.
The state would gain this authority even though it was forced last summer to scuttle its felons list after news organizations showed it was riddled with errors, among them the exclusion of Hispanic felons. State officials contend the new system won't repeat those mistakes, but some Democratic lawmakers remain unconvinced.
"I think the state showed gross incompetence with the felons list last time and I'm very skeptical why they would have the sole power and only power" to purge the rolls, said House Democratic Leader Chris Smith of Fort Lauderdale.
The other change is a response to the limited control that the state now has over elections. One example: After a disastrous primary election in 2002, the governor threatened to suspend Miriam Oliphant, then elections supervisor in Broward, for problems at the polls. Short of threats, the governor had little authority to do anything to bring the recalcitrant elections chief in line. He eventually suspended Oliphant, an action that is still under appeal.