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Florida elections, 2013
Contents |
| On the 2013 ballot |
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Exceptions include special elections. Find current election news and links here. |
2013 elections
Special elections
State House District 2
- Rep. Clay Ford (R) passed away on March 18, 2013 after a battle with cancer.[1] A special election has been called for June 11. A primary will take place on May 14. Candidates had until April 23 to file certified nomination papers with the Secretary of State.[2][3]
- Related: See election information here.
- See also: Florida state legislative special elections, 2013.
Voting absentee
- See also: Absentee Voting
Eligibility
All voters are eligible to vote absentee in Florida. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee.
Deadlines
To vote absentee, an absentee ballot application must be received by the election office at least 6 days prior to the election. A returned absentee ballot must then be received by the elections office by 7pm on election day.
Military and overseas voting
For full details, visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program here.
Voting early
- See also: Early voting
Florida is one of 33 states that has early voting with no specific requirements as to who can vote early. Early voting begins 10 days before an election and ends 3 days prior to election day. The average number of days prior to an election that voters can cast an early ballot is 21 days in states with a definitive starting date.
2013 developments
Senator Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, the man who sponsored the 2011 law that reduced the number of early voting days in Florida, authored a bill which would provide increased early voting opportunities.[4]
The newest early voting proposal would give counties an extra day for early voting before a general election and allow them to keep polls open for 14 hours. In addition, the bill would require all elections supervisors to submit a report three months prior to a general election, outlining preparations for that election.[4]
In addition, Florida's election supervisors have asked the legislature for the following changes with respect to early voting:[5]
- Require that the Legislature comply with the 75-word ballot summary requirement that is required for citizen-led ballot initiatives (Lawmakers exempted themselves from that requirement years ago, and ordered the full text of several amendments to be on the November ballot, a leading contributor to long lines at polling places).
- Require eight days of early voting in primary and general elections "with the option for supervisors to provide additional days not to exceed 14 days." (In 2011 the legislature reduced the number of early voting days from 14 to 8).
- Give election supervisors the leeway to select more early voting sites (currently limited to election offices, city halls and libraries).
2012 developments
In 2011, the Republican-controlled legislature cut the number of early voting days from 12 to 8. However, due to a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the counties of Collier, Hardee, Hendry, Hillsborough, and Monroe would retain their full 12 days of early voting. That is because these counties are covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[4]
The Justice Department has since agreed with the state's early voting schedule provided that the five counties must offer 96 hours of voting between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. over eight days, the maximum under the law. Both the counties and the state have agreed to the terms, so the case should now be thrown out.[6]
Elections Performance Index
Florida ranked 25th out of the 50 states and District of Columbia in the Pew Charitable Trusts' Elections Performance Index (EPI), based on the 2010 elections. The EPI examines election administration performance assigning an average percentage score based on 17 indicators of election performance. The indicators were chosen within the framework of determining the convenience and integrity of each of the three administrative phases of an election: registration, voting and counting. Florida received an overall score of 65%.[7]
See also
References
- ↑ tampabay.com, "Florida State Representative Clay Ford dies," March 19, 2013
- ↑ weartv.com, "Special Election to be held to fill Representative Clay Ford's District Seat," April 4, 2014
- ↑ election.dos.state.fl.us, "Candidate Listing for 2013 Special Election - State House 2," Accessed April 24,2013
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 SunSentinel.com, "2011 elex law sponsor files bill to change early voting," January 7, 2013
- ↑ Miami Herald, "Election supervisors want up to 14 early voting days, January 10, 2012
- ↑ The New York Times, "Court Approves Schedule for Florida Early Voting," September 13, 2012
- ↑ Pew Charitable Trusts, Election Performance Index Report
