Florida voting issues

Early voting
What is Early Voting?

Voters may vote in person by casting a ballot prior to election day. The voter will use the same type of voting equipment that is used at the polls on election day. Early voting begins 15 days before an election and ends on the 2nd day before an election. During this period, early voting is conducted 8 hours per day on each weekday and for 8 hours in the aggregate for each weekend. Supervisors of Elections designate early voting sites 30 days prior to an election. Early voting will be offered in the main or branch office of the Supervisor of Elections. They may also designate any city hall or public library geographically located so that all voters in the county will have an equal opportunity to cast a vote. Contact your Supervisor of Elections for dates, times and locations in your county.

How to Early Vote

Early voting begins 15 days before an election and ends on the 2nd day before an election. During this period, early voting is conducted 8 hours per day on each weekday and for 8 hours in the aggregate on each weekend. Supervisors of Elections designate early voting sites 30 days prior to an election. Early voting will be offered in the main or branch office of the Supervisor of Elections. They may also designate any city hall or public library as an early voting site. Voters who want to vote early should present the following at the early voting site:


 * a valid photo identification; and
 * a signature identification.


 * Information about absentee voting

Voting at the Polls

 * On Election Day, the polls are open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. and are normally less busy during the mid-morning and mid-afternoon.

If you do not know the location of your polling place, contact your Supervisor of Elections. Also, many Supervisors of Elections have precinct and polling place finders on their web sites to provide you with the information on where to vote.

Voter ID requirements
At the polls, you will be asked to provide a valid picture identification with signature. The following photo ids will be accepted:
 * Florida driver’s license
 * Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
 * United States passport
 * Debit or credit card
 * Military identification
 * Student identification
 * Retirement center identification
 * Neighborhood association identification
 * Public assistance identification.

If your photo identification does not contain your signature, you will be asked to provide an additional identification that includes a signature.

If you do not have the proper identification, you will be provided with a provisional ballot. Your provisional ballot will count if the signature on the provisional ballot envelope matches the signature on your voter registration application.

Provisional ballots
If you vote a provisional ballot solely because you did not provide an acceptable photo and signature identification at the polls, you do not need to provide any further evidence of your eligibility in order for your ballot to count. You will be provided a written notice of your rights as a provisional ballot voter. (Section 101.048, F.S.) The local canvassing board will simply compare your signature on the provisional ballot certificate with the signature on your voter registration record. If the signatures match, your provisional ballot will be counted.

If you vote a provisional ballot for other reasons (for example, your eligibility is challenged by another person, you are in the wrong precinct when you vote, you do not appear on the precinct register, etc.), you will be provided written notice of your right to present evidence of your eligibility. You must provide the evidence to your respective supervisor of elections no later than 5 p.m, of the second day following the election. (Section 101.048, F.S.) The local canvassing board will examine your provisional ballot certificate and all other information and evidence available. Then based on a preponderance of the evidence, the board will determine whether to count your provisional ballot.

Instructions on how to find out if your provisional ballot was counted, and if not, the reason(s) why, will be contained in your notice of rights handed to you at the time that you vote a provisional ballot. Information as to whether your provisional ballot was counted or not must be made available no later than 30 days following the election. (Sections 101.048(5)-(6), F.S.)

2008 election
For the 2008 election Florida used the following voting machines. For a county-by-county list of the specific machines (and the source for this section) see Verified Voting's Verifier tool.

Direct-Recording Electronic (DRE) machines with a paper trail:
 * Election Systems & Software's iVotronic
 * Premier Election Solutions' (Diebold) AccuVote-TSX

Optical scan machines:
 * Premier Election Solutions' (Diebold) AccuVote-OS
 * ES&S Model 100
 * ES&S Model DS200
 * Sequoia Optech III-P Eagle

Assistive Devices for Marking Paper Ballots:
 * Election Systems & Software's AutoMARK Technical Systems AutoMARK VAT

Governmental election authorities
Florida Division of Elections


 * Website: http://election.dos.state.fl.us/

Contact information:


 * Florida Division of Elections
 * Room 316, R.A. Gray Building, 500 Bronough Street
 * Tallahassee, Fl. 32399-0250
 * (850)245-6200

Resources:


 * Voter Assistance Hotline Toll Free 1-866-308-6739

For voting information including voter registration, election dates, early voting, precincts and Supervisor of Elections contact information, M-F 8:00 am - 5:00 pm EST.
 * Voter Fraud Hotline Toll Free 1-877-868-3737

For calls about irregularities or fraud relating to voter registration, voting, voter intimidation, or activities specifically related to petitions, M-F 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. EST.


 * Find Florida County Election Supervisorby Maps
 * List of Florida County Election Supervisors

State and local non-governmental election organizations
Florida Fair Elections Coalition


 * Website: http://www.floridafairelections.org/

Contact information:
 * Corporate Office 386-736-8086
 * Susan Pynchon, Executive Director 386-804-3131

Florida Voters Coalition

Description: Florida Voters Coalition's mission is to ensure all eligible voters are provided an equal opportunity to cast a private and independent ballot, have all votes on that ballot recorded and canvassed accurately, and build strong non-partisan alliances with computer scientists, statisticians, election law experts, grassroots election integrity advocacy organizations, and other interested organizations and voters throughout Florida and nationally to further our mission. We believe that working together in coalition makes our voices stronger.


 * Website: http://www.floridavoters.org/

Contact information:
 * Florida Voters Coalition
 * 204 37th Ave. North, #153
 * St. Petersburg, FL 33704


 * email: [mailto:info@floridavoters.org info@floridavoters.org]


 * Dan McCrea, President
 * [mailto:dan@floridavoters.org dan@floridavoters.org]
 * 305.984.2900


 * Pamela Haengel, VP & Co-Founder
 * [mailto:pam@floridavoters.org pam@floridavoters.org]
 * 727.244.9064

League of Women Voters

LWV of Florida, Ms. Marilynn Wills, President
 * 540 Beverly Court
 * Tallahassee, FL 32301-2506
 * Phone: 850-224-2545
 * Fax: 850-222-4485
 * E-mail: LWVF1@comcast.net
 * http://www.lwvfla.org/

Local Leagues:
 * Alachua County
 * Bay County
 * Broward County
 * Charlotte County MAL Unit
 * Collier County
 * Flagler County
 * Hillsborough Co.
 * Jacksonville / First Coast
 * Lake County
 * Lee County
 * Manatee County
 * Martin County
 * Miami-Dade County
 * North Pinellas County
 * Okaloosa County
 * Orange County
 * Palm Beach County
 * Pensacola Bay Area
 * Polk County
 * Sarasota County
 * Seminole County
 * Space Coast (Brevard County)
 * St. Lucie County
 * St. Petersburg
 * Tallahassee
 * The Villages Tri-County Area MAL Unit
 * Volusia County

The Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition

Description: The Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition  (MDERC) is a non-partisan grass-roots organization dedicated to election reform. Our mission is to protect the rights of every eligible voter to cast a ballot and to have that ballot accurately recorded and counted.


 * Website: http://www.reformcoalition.org/

Contact information:
 * Lida Rodriguez Taseff, Chair 305-960-2242
 * Sandy Wayland, President 305-297-9921
 * Bobbie Brinegar, D.C. Director [mailto:bobbie@brinegar.com bobbie@brinegar.com]

Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections


 * Website: http://www.safevote.org/

VoteTrustUSA - Florida

This is the Florida page of the national VoteTrust USA organization.


 * Website: http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=53&Itemid=136

External resources
Voter Protection Laws in A Nutshell
 * Florida Voter Protection Laws in A Nutshell