Fresh off a court victory over the ACLU on Floridas voting law changes, Secretary of State Kurt Browning has no plan to ask legislators to reconsider the new laws they made in the 2011 session.
I would say (Browning) doesnt feel the voter registration law has to be changed, said Florida Department of State spokesman Chris Cate.
Cates comment comes as Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., wants Gov. Rick Scott and other state leaders to reconsider the voting changes.
Nelson, speaking during a stop at Griffin Middle School in Tallahassee on Thursday, said the states new laws are impediments to voting for seniors, students and black voters.
Nelson noted he wrote the governor Tuesday after reading that a New Smyrna Beach High School civics teacher was advised she may have violated at least one of the states new rules when she conducted a student voter registration drive on campus.
This raced through in the heat of the legislative session, Nelson said.Thirteen other states have done similar legislation but not nearly as draconian as Floridas legislation.
Critics of the changes say the aim of the new rules is to suppress Democratic votes in next years presidential election.Proponents of the change said the intent was to ensure the accuracy of voter rolls and make early voting more accessible.
Nelson said he also intends to call Scott to discuss the voting laws.
Nelsons letter comes a week after U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore tossed a lawsuit by the ACLU of Florida over the voting changes, declaring that the civil liberties outfit lacked the standing to sue.
The civil rights group accused Browning of implementing the changes without the required federal approval required by the 1965 Voting Rights Act for Collier, Hardee, Hendry, Hillsborough and Monroe counties.
Despite the ruling, the U.S. Department of Justice is still reviewing the reduction in the number of early voting days, new rules for groups holding voter registration drives, requiring voters to change out-of-county addresses at the polls to cast provisional ballots.
Theyre fair and its important for the forms to be turned in timely, Cate said.
The legislative changes reduce early voting from 14 days to eight, will require third parties signing up voters to register with the state and submit each application within 48 hours of the card being signed, and for people who need to change their address on the day of the election to fill out provisional ballots.
The governors office deferred comment to the secretary of state's office.
A spokeswoman for Senate President Mike Haridopolos said they had yet to see Nelsons letter.
Cate said under the old law, there was no requirement for early voting to be held on Sunday; now there is, and the daily hours have been extended to make it more convenient to vote before or after work.
Youve got up to 36 hours total weekend voting now; previously, you had a maximum of 16, Cate said. If you start to focus on the law instead of the day, you could make the argument that early voting will be more accessible than it used to be.
He added that every provisional ballot, unless there is an obvious attempt at fraud, will be counted as a legal vote.
Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859 or (772) 215-9889.
