Crist Calls for Election Reforms
Thursday, December 20, 2012
By: Matt Laslo

December 20, 2012 | WMFE - Former Governor Charlie Crist told the US Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday that Florida needs to overhaul its new election laws. He also took some jabs at Republican Governor Rick Scott raising speculation about a possible challenge in the 2014 election.

Former Republican Florida Governor Charlie Crist, now a Democrat, told the committee recent changes to Florida’s election laws were “politically motivated” and helped suppress voter turnout.

He took special aim at the decision to shrink the number of early voting days this year, especially the elimination of Sunday voting the weekend before the election. 

“There were lines in Miami Gardens, which is largely African American, three and four hours people had to wait to vote in early voting.” Crist said.  “And over in Aventura on the same afternoon,

I saw lines that were requiring people to wait two and a half and three hours for early voting.”

Governor Rick Scott helped usher the changes through the legislature, but this week on CNN he announced he wants to explore some election reforms including the possibility of extending the length of early voting.

Crist says he welcomes the reversal from the governor because voters are demanding change.  But he suggested that limits on early voting approved in 2011 were politically motivated.

"In 2011, the state Legislature voted for and Governor Scott signed a massive election law designed, I believe, to make it harder for some Floridians to legally vote and designed to encourage a certain partisan outcome." Crist told the committee.

As for whether Crist is ready to challenge Governor Scott in Florida’s next governor’s race, Crist made no announcement but says in January he’s attending the BCS National Championship Game with the Democratic Governors Association.