Republicans Crafted a A Bad Elections Bill That Would Stifle Voting

From the House Dems:

Florida House Democrats say:

· The Legislature should make it easier for citizens to vote instead of stifling citizen activism and participation in elections.
· Shame on Republican legislators for trying to suppress the vote with a self-serving rewrite of elections law that failed to stand up under scrutiny!
· Embarrassed by the exposure of their self-serving power grab, Republicans now must accept a severe neutering of House Bill 7149 (formerly known as PCB EDCA 09-08).

Read what news organizations have written about the Republican voter-suppression legislation:

· Orlando Sentinel, April 23, 2009
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-editorial-voting-assault-042309,0,4626719.story
“The Republican majority has sucker-punched Floridians with a last-minute plan that would throw new obstacles in the path of citizens registering to vote, casting their ballots and amending the state constitution.”

· Ocala Star-Banner, April 22, 2009
http://www.ocala.com/article/20090422/OPINION/904221001/1008/OPINION?Title=-65279-65279-Embarrassed-on-elections-again
“The thinking behind this bill is inexplicable.”

· The New York Times, April 18, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/opinion/19sun2.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=elections,%20florida&st=Search
“Florida legislators should not need a court to tell them not to interfere with the right to vote.”

· St. Petersburg Times, April 19, 2009
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/article993149.ece
“Republican legislative leaders have lost all sense of shame with their 11th-hour bill to roll back voting rights in Florida.”

· The Miami Herald, April 21, 2009
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/story/1009469.html
“The sweeping rewrite of Florida's election laws by the Republican majority last week is a flagrant example of power politics at its worst. Here we have legislation authored in secrecy and haste, which has been bereft of meaningful public input or comment.”

· SUN Newspapers (Southwest Florida), April 24, 2009
http://www.sunnewspapers.net/articles/edStory.aspx?articleID=436162
“There is every reason to increase Florida’s efforts to extend the voting process and make it as accessible to as many people as possible.”

· The Gainesville Sun, April 23, 2009
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090423/OPINION01/904231015/1076/OPINION?Title=Editorial-A-bad-election-bill
“This legislation is shadowy and shameful.”

· Daytona Beach News-Journal, April 22, 2009
http://www.newsjournalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Opinion/Editorials/opnOPN40042109.htm
“This legislation is especially puzzling because Florida, after a long history of troubled elections, had seemed to finally get it right. There were very few problems with the 2008 election -- and neither House nor Senate version of the legislation would solve 2008's biggest problem: Long lines at early-voting stations around the state, which forced many voters to wait for hours to cast their ballot.”

· (Sarasota) Herald Tribune, April 21, 2009
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20090421/OPINION/904211031/2198/OPINION?Title=Why-rush-to-change-election-laws-Legislature-should-shelve-a-troubling-costly-bill
“Why? How did such relatively low-priority legislation manage to squeeze itself into a session that is already hard-pressed for time to grapple with such essential issues as tax reform and renewable energy policy? What is driving the ill-advised election measure?”