The League Of Extraordinary Wingnuts Vs. The League Of Women Voters

If you want to know what's up in the Galtian Republic of Rick Scott, formerly known as "Florida", then the Reid Report is your go to news source.  For example, the League of Women Voters is ceasing voter registrations in the state thanks to Florida's soon to pass voter registration law, HB 1355.

It is with great regret that the League of Women Voters of Florida announces that we must cease our voter registration efforts in this state should HB 1355, the elections bill recently passed by the Florida legislature, become law.

Despite the fact that the League of Women Voters is one of the nation’s most respected civic organizations, with a 91-year history of registering and educating voters, we will be unable to comply with the egregious provisions contained in HB 1355.

Not only does the bill make it more difficult for voters to participate in our democracy via a decrease in early voting and new policies regarding address changes at the polls, it also imposes an undue burden on groups such as ours that work to register voters.

So what does HB 1355 do?

HB 1355, which passed the legislature last week, would force people who need to change their address on election day to vote on provision ballots, which are often not counted; would cut the number of early voting days from 14 to 8, and would place new restrictions and liabilities on groups that register people to vote. Republicans say the changes are needed to stop voter fraud, but presented no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Florida to back up their claims. The law is seen by many as an attempt to suppress the kind of votes that typically go to Democrats.

It would greatly increase the number of voters given provisional ballots instead of official ballots (particularly college students) and impose steep fines for any third party voter registration organization that failed to turn in any voter registration card with 48 hours of being signed by a resident.  The early voting period being shortened too makes it more difficult for low income voters to vote.  Republicans say the measures are needed to prevent voter fraud, but passed the bill in the state legislature without citing a single example of fraud that these measures would have prevented.

The bill is designed to disenfranchise the vote of traditional Democratic voting groups, period.  To Florida Republicans, anyone voting Democrat is probably guilty of fraud anyway.  The measure will almost certainly end up before the Supreme Court.  Whether that will happen before the 2012 election is anyone's guess.