State Senate Panel Considers Election Reforms
Monday, January 14, 2013
By: Margie Menzel

January 14, 2013 | WMFE - The Florida Senate takes up election reform today with ten county elections supervisors testifying in Tallahassee. The supervisors say they want more flexibility to accommodate the growing number of voters who choose to cast their ballots before Election Day.

Lawmakers reduced the number of early voting days from 14 to eight as part of a controversial bill passed in 2011.

Now Senator Jack Latvala, a Republican from Pinellas County, chairs the Senate panel.

He says all options are on the table.

"Going back to the old way of early voting that we've done for the last ten years is one of the options.” Latvala says. “I've even had people suggest that perhaps we should open all the precincts for early voting." 

Another suggestion from the county supervisors is to limit the length of ballot initiatives, which in some counties took up to 40 minutes for voters to read.