President of the Florida Civil Right Association, J. Willie David, III, is calling on the Secretary of State and the Florida Legislature to modernize Florida’s election system and to seriously consider internet voting.
David, who made the call on Tuesday said in a statement that, it is time for the state to come out of the stone age.
“The fact that Florida is not voting on-line coupled with the election recent laws passed by the Republican controlled Florida Legislature and signed by Governor Rick Scott, are clear indicators of the blatantly discriminatory efforts they have employed to hinder and discourage brown and black voters,” he said.
David added that several states such as Oregon, Arizona and Hawaii are successfully employing internet voting in their elections. He also referenced a recent report in the Miami Herald where thousands of absentee ballots were rejected for various reasons. It appeared that voters who tried to avoid long lines at polling locations are being unfairly punished and it wasn’t unreasonable to believe that even more ballots were rejected statewide, he said.
David said that even where the number of absentee ballots rejected in one county may appear small, the aggregate number of rejected ballots can reveal how the outcome of an election could be changed in light of all the ballots rejected.
“Despite the nation being headed for a “Fiscal Cliff,” the Florida Legislature has no good faith basis to claim that Florida cannot find the resources in order to modernize Florida’s election system, David said. “Florida’s history of election debacles in 2000 and 2012 reveal the need for the modernization of Florida’s election system.”
Secretary of State Ken Detzner recently kicked off a six county listening tour in Hillsborough County to review Florida’s election crisis. Detzner said technology issues regarding the election is best handled at the local level. Detzner and his staff will also visit Broward, Lee, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and St. Lucie County.
The Florida Civil Rights Association said, Florida Senate President Don Gaetz and House Speaker Will Weatherford should consider holding public hearings across the state on the election problems, and voting by the internet. The FCRA added that the time is right to consider letting voters cast a ballot from the comfort of their homes or even on the screens of their mobile phones. At least, elections officials should consider a pilot program for online registration and voting at local election.
