State Senate committee rejects bid to keep 2 weeks for early voting

Tallahassee

One of the most discussed provisions of an omnibus election reform bill in the state Legislature would reduce the early-voting period in the state from 15 days to just seven. The bill would also ban most voters from changing their address on Election Day, as well as make it much harder for third-party groups to register new voters.

That issue was advocated on Tuesday by Miami Republican state Senator Miguel Diaz de la Portilla in a Senate Budget Committee hearing. But later, the Senate voted on a measure sponsored by Diaz de la Portilla and Don Gaetz that would extend early voting to nine days.

And Diaz de la Portilla stressed that his new law would still allow for 96 hours of early voting.

This article appears in Apr 21-27, 2011.