Bill up for discussion on extending early voting hours

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Some lawmakers want to extend early voting hours permanently.

TALLAHASSEE (Bay News 9) -- Thanks to early voting, you don't need to head to the polls on Election Day to cast your ballot.

Last year, 2.5 million Floridians voted early, causing long lines up and down the state.

That's why some lawmakers want to expand early voting, but they could be in for a tough fight.
Lauren Walz and her mother, Dicque, say that they waited to vote.

"A lot of people don't have time to go wait in line for five hours," said Walz. "I know that if I was faced with that, I wouldn't -- I'd try to mail it or something, but I wouldn't stand in line for that long to vote."

In fact, the lines were so long that Governor Charlie Crist extended early voting hours.

And now Democrats in Tallahassee have written bills to make that permanent.

By law, polls can only be kept open for eight hours every weekday and a total of eight hours on the weekends.

The proposed bills would allow county election officials to extend those hours up to 12 every day.

Ben Wilcox with the League of Women Voters calls the extension overdue.

"We've taken a one-size-fits-all approach," said Wilcox. "And that's why we need to change and give supervisors more flexibility."

Privately, some GOP lawmakers are grumbling about the bills.

In 2008, nearly 60-percent more Democrats turned out to vote early than Republicans.

Extending the hours could give Democratic candidates an even bigger advantage.

But the bills won't even get a hearing unless GOP leaders sign off on it.

Florida's annual two month legislative session begins next March.

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