Was there a record voter turnout in 2012?
A few days after the election, a CNN reporter asked Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner about long lines and other problems in Florida on Election Day: “How could this happen in 2012 in a state in...
View ArticleBill targets long voting lines in Fla., Va., Ohio
By Dara Kam Palm Beach Post Comments Tallahassee, Fla. —Waiting four hours to vote might be all right by Florida Gov. Rick Scott's standards but it's unacceptable to U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, a...
View ArticleFlorida elections chief defends voting laws as he begins listening tour
Bill VarianTampa Bay Times ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Story Tools Print this story Purchase reprints Contact the editor Email Newsletters TAMPA — Hillsborough County election officials articulated...
View ArticleMich. lawmakers pass flurry of bills, address new EM law, lighting authority
By Chad Livengood and Karen Bouffard Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments The Countdown: Finley and Dingell recap the lame d...: The Dec. 13, 2012 edition of the Countdown. Nolan Finley and Debbie...
View ArticleMichigan lawmakers pass flurry of bills, address new EM law, lighting...
By Chad Livengood and Karen Bouffard Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments Lansing — Michigan's 96th Legislature ended its term with a marathon bill passing spree that stretched into early Friday and...
View ArticleMichigan lawmakers pass flurry of bills, addressing new EM law, lighting...
By Chad Livengood and Karen Bouffard Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments The Countdown: Finley and Dingell recap the lame d...: The Dec. 13, 2012 edition of the Countdown. Nolan Finley and Debbie...
View ArticleEditorial: Fix real problems with Florida elections, not bogus ones
It is fascinating to hear state Republican leaders talk about the inspirations for House Bill 1355, the repressive election law they passed last year to shorten early voting, hinder voter-registration...
View ArticleCapitol bracing for right-to-work vote protests; unions plan next moves
By Karen Bouffard and Chad Livengood Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers members stand outside the capitol in Lansing on Friday. (Paul Sancya /...
View ArticleBattles over right-to-work laws may have just begun
By Karen Bouffard Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments Lansing — Gov. Rick Snyder's signature on right-to-work legislation Tuesday was the opening salvo in a battle that could last two years or longer...
View ArticleBattles over righ-to-work laws may have just begun
By Karen Bouffard Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments Lansing — Gov. Rick Snyder's signature on right-to-work legislation Tuesday was the opening salvo in a battle that could last two years or longer...
View ArticleProvisional-ballot law prevented little fraud but forced extra work
Michael Van SicklerTampa Bay Times In Print: Monday, December 17, 2012 ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Story Tools Print this story Purchase reprints Contact the editor Email Newsletters TALLAHASSEE —...
View ArticleLaw must change to fix state's election messColumn
To fix a problem, you first need to understand it. After the November election, Florida was the last state to tally votes and certify results. Embarrassed, the governor, secretary of state and...
View ArticleMiami-Dade group stresses need to restore voting Sunday before Election Day
Miami-Dade County wants more early-voting days — but how many more is up for debate. Mayor Carlos Gimenez and his appointed elections supervisor, Penelope Townsley, asked the Florida secretary of...
View ArticleMiami-Dade elections group to discuss potential changes to state law
An advisory group poring over Miami-Dade elections problems will hold its second meeting Friday, this time to focus on what changes to request from state lawmakers. County Mayor Carlos Gimenez, who...
View ArticleMiami-Dade officials suggest voting changes to Florida elections chief
By Patricia Mazzei, Miami Herald Patricia MazzeiTampa Bay Times In Print: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Story Tools Print this story Purchase reprints Contact the editor...
View ArticleTop state and local elections officials meet in Broward to talk about...
If Broward Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes had one word to summarize what she needs to reduce long voting lines in the future it would be “flexibility.” That was the message Snipes delivered to...
View ArticleMiami-Dade to Florida elections chief: Help us make election fixes
Miami-Dade’s mayor and elections supervisor asked Florida’s secretary of state on Tuesday to relay three requests to Tallahassee to try to fix last month’s elections woes: Extend the number of...
View ArticleTop state elections chief meets with South Florida supervisors
One week after labeling Broward and Palm Beach counties as "underperforming" in the handling of the November election, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner on Wednesday came to town and got an...
View ArticleShould state take over elections since they believe South Florida elections...
State lawmakers in Tallhassee sprung into action, stung by the national shame that came with being way late in counting their votes in the November 6th presidential election. While Obama finished...
View ArticleFlorida Elections made easy
Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner got an earful last week during his rounds of local election officials’ offices, as well he should have. Mr. Detzner is Florida’s top election official. He didn’t...
View ArticleState and Palm Beach County election chiefs confer on solving problems that...
Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher knows what she needs to shorten voting lines and she made sure that Secretary of State Kenneth Detzner understood those needs during a...
View ArticleBarbara Boxer files bill to shorten voting lines
Waiting four hours to vote might be all right by Gov. Rick Scott’s standards but it’s unacceptable to U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who introduced legislation Wednesday targeting long...
View ArticleRick Scott: Trust Me to Fix What I Broke (Democratic Party)
(Source: Democratic Party) TALLAHASSEE, FL - Here are the facts: Gov. Rick Scott supported HB 1355 - the voter suppression bill which slashed early voting days. Gov. Rick Scott signed HB 1355 into...
View ArticleAround Florida: Scott, Crist already trading jabs in advance of 2014
In the otherwise quiet days leading up to the holidays, the Tallahassee discussion last week centered on election reform. For the first time Wednesday, Gov. Rick Scott said the state should consider...
View ArticleAfter Florida's latest voting mess, Scott proposes changes in state election...
TALLAHASSEE — -- Gov. Rick Scott on Wedneday laid out changes he'd like to see in the state election law, citing the need for more polling locations, more days for early voting and shorter ballots....
View ArticleAs Charlie Crist testifies before Congress on Florida's voting problems,...
Alex LearyTampa Bay Times ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Story Tools Print this story Purchase reprints Contact the editor Email Newsletters WASHINGTON — Former Gov. Charlie Crist condemned Florida's...
View ArticleHow right to work got on the table
By Chad Livengood Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments Lansing — On the Monday after Thanksgiving, Michigan's top union leaders began 10 days of secretive talks with Gov. Rick Snyder's staff and...
View ArticleCharlie Crist testifies in D.C. on Florida elections; Gov. Rick Scott...
Alex LearyTampa Bay Times In Print: Thursday, December 20, 2012 ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Story Tools Print this story Purchase reprints Contact the editor Email Newsletters WASHINGTON — Former Gov....
View ArticleDems, unions vow ballot box, court fights
By Chad Livengood Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments Angry union protesters are thronged outside the building Organized labor union members were out in force on the Capitol lawn this morning as...
View ArticleAbortion, emergency manager legislation passes Michigan Legislature
By Chad Livengood and Karen Bouffard Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments Lansing — One day after Gov. Rick Snyder and lawmakers made Michigan a right-to-work state, the Republican-controlled...
View ArticleRick Scott: Voting Problems Were 'Just Too Long' (VIDEO)
More than a month after Election Day, Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) admitted on Wednesday that his state's voting setup had its share of problems. In an interview on CNN's "Starting Point With Soledad...
View ArticleMichigan House, Senate pass right-to-work legislation
By Karen Bouffard and Chad Livengood Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments Wild day at the Capitol over right-to-work legisla...: UAW President Bob King and other union supporters voice their...
View ArticleHouse, Senate quickly take up right-to-work bills; 8 protesters arrested
By Karen Bouffard and Chad Livengood Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments Right-to-work protestors at the Capitol: UAW President Bob King and other union supporters voice their opposition to...
View ArticleVirginia lawmakers split on election reform plans
Three Virginia congressional Democrats witnessed similar scenes on Election Day: long lines at polling places around the commonwealth, with not enough poll workers or voting machines to handle the...
View ArticleChan Lowe: A Florida state power grab?
The same Republican-dominated Florida legislature that brought us ballots overloaded with state constitutional questions, a compressed early-voting period, and a punitive law designed to discourage...
View ArticleSynder makes Michigan 24th right-to-work state
By Chad Livengood and Karen Bouffard Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments Purchase Image Gov. Rick Snyder held a news conference flanked by Lt. Gov. Brian Calley on Tuesday evening after he signed two...
View ArticleLegislature sends new EM law to Snyder
By Chad Livengood and Karen Bouffard Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments The Countdown: Finley and Dingell recap the lame d...: The Dec. 13, 2012 edition of the Countdown. Nolan Finley and Debbie...
View ArticleEM, lighting bills sent to Snyder; Senate OKs recall changes
By Chad Livengood and Karen Bouffard Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments The Countdown: Finley and Dingell recap the lame d...: The Dec. 13, 2012 edition of the Countdown. Nolan Finley and Debbie...
View ArticleHouse, Senate pass two right-to-work bills; debate on third continues
By Karen Bouffard and Chad Livengood Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments Wild day at the Capitol over right-to-work legisla...: UAW President Bob King and other union supporters voice their...
View ArticleGov signs bills making Michigan 24th right-to-work state
By Chad Livengood Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments Lansing — Without ceremony, Gov. Rick Snyder said he signed two bills tonight making Michigan the nation's 24th right-to-work state. Both he...
View ArticleLansing OKs EM, Detroit lighting bills
By Chad Livengood and Karen Bouffard Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments Purchase Image Representatives take part on a busy session on the House floor Thursday. Over Democrats objections, both...
View ArticleSnyder vetoes gun legislation
By Chad Livengood Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments Lansing — Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday vetoed legislation allowing concealed weapons inside public schools, day cares and hospitals and asked the...
View ArticleLame-duck blitz brings change
By Chad Livengood Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments Lansing — While most Michiganians were sleeping Thursday night and into the wee hours Friday morning, state lawmakers were rushing to pass a slew...
View ArticleProvisional ballots spike, but Florida elections supervisors say they’re not...
TALLAHASSEE -- It’s the most unreliable way to vote, a last resort in which half of the ballots are disqualified. Created by Congress a decade ago, the provisional ballot was intended as a final...
View ArticleLegislators must fix Florida's elections mess
Florida’s election laws weren’t broken. Sunday voting before Election Day should not have been eliminated. And third party registration didn’t need to be made so difficult that the League ow Women...
View ArticleThree-step election reform
Here is what Gov. Rick Scott recently said, during an interview with CNN about Florida's elections: "We need to have bipartisan legislation that deals with three issues. One, the length of our ballot....
View ArticleSnyder gets EM, lighting bills; House OKs personal property tax changes
By Chad Livengood and Karen Bouffard Detroit News Lansing Bureau Comments The Countdown: Finley and Dingell recap the lame d...: The Dec. 13, 2012 edition of the Countdown. Nolan Finley and Debbie...
View ArticleWestrate: 2013 the year to reform indigent defense system
By Marcela Westrate Comments During the closing hours of the lame duck legislative session, one lawmaker posted to Facebook that nearly 100 bills were still on the agenda to be considered....
View ArticleLabor Voices: Meet Governor Dick DeVos
By Steven Cook Comments Shameful. That's the best word to describe the Michigan Legislature and Gov. Rick Snyder's actions during the lame duck session that just concluded. In the span of a few days,...
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