# I pit Rick Scott, the FL GOP, and their blatant attempt to suppress voting rights **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 20, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526 "2011-05-20T01:32:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/1 "2011-05-20T01:32:10Z")
[St. Petersburg Times article](http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/floridas-governor-signs-assault-on-democracy-into-law/1170616) :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad: I have a possible opportunity to move out of state sometime in the next year-I might just avail myself of the opportunity. This law does several rather despicable things (and fails to do one thing, which is the real tell here): \*Shortens early voting from two weeks to eight days \*Early voting is barred three days before Election Day \*Voters who change their residences a lot will now to be handed provisional ballots at the polls, which may or may not be counted \*The new law also suppresses voting by threatening groups that conduct voter registration drives. Groups will now face steep fines if they don’t get new registrations submitted within 48 hours rather than 10 days. \*Here’s the kicker: the other form of early voting, absentee ballots, was untouched by the new law (Gee I wonder why)? The above new rules will make it much harder for Democratically leaning voters to get their votes in and counted. Many minorities took advantage of the early voting, esp. on the final weekend. Those who move around a lot, such as college students, won’t have a chance to update their addresses at the polls (young voters tend to skew Democratic). The registration drive thing will basically drown such attempts in tons of red tape. And the tell, of course, is that absentee balloting is just as fine and hunky dory as before (for those sunbirds, typically rich and white and conservative, who migrate between their two homes each year-yes my mom is one of them, but might be amenable to being outraged by this law anyway). So, Rick Scott, and your old boy cronies, you lot of donkey spunk swilling, baboon butt fondling ,elephant shit eating and wombat piss sipping bastard asshole bungholes, this is for you, but the real pitting is for all those brain dead Fox News watching Florida voters last year who were blissfully and willfully ignorant of whom they were actually voting for-congratulations. The only bright spot is our fair town elected its first African American mayor, defeating one of those career GOP buttturds who has been infesting the city machinery for decades. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/2 "2011-05-20T01:35:25Z")
Well there’s a surprise. Fuck. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/3 "2011-05-20T01:47:46Z")
Blech. Partisan nature of these changes aside, not being able to vote the weekend before the election is a pain in the ass. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/4 "2011-05-20T02:27:46Z")
It’s just refreshing to see the FL legislature take a breather from introducing the third most number of anti-abortion bills to focus on the important issues, like Scott’s campaign motto “Let’s Get To Work!”. Or, you know, a fictitious voter fraud problem. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/5 "2011-05-20T03:21:56Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Blech. Partisan nature of these changes aside, not being able to vote the weekend before the election is a pain in the ass. Not that I’m backing these “reforms”, as it were, but why is voting in person such a big deal? Except when I find myself overseas and have no choice but to put in an absentee ballot, I manage to make it to the polling station every election day to cast my vote in person. I wouldn’t consider it a “pain in the ass”, I consider it part of the act of voting. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/6 "2011-05-20T03:28:13Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > Not that I’m backing these “reforms”, as it were, but why is voting in person such a big deal? Except when I find myself overseas and have no choice but to put in an absentee ballot, I manage to make it to the polling station every election day to cast my vote in person. I wouldn’t consider it a “pain in the ass”, I consider it part of the act of voting. Sick, weak, old, crippled, no car, …lots of reasons. Some people live out in the country, some on top of mountains. Many travel a lot due to business or family. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/7 "2011-05-20T03:37:29Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > Not that I’m backing these “reforms”, as it were, but why is voting in person such a big deal? Except when I find myself overseas and have no choice but to put in an absentee ballot, I manage to make it to the polling station every election day to cast my vote in person. I wouldn’t consider it a “pain in the ass”, I consider it part of the act of voting. The early voting they’re talking about is when they open select polling stations early. So you still vote in person, but instead of having to either duck out of work mid-day or go after five and stand in line for an hour, you can do it during the weekend. It makes it a lot easier to vote, and cuts down on lines at the polling stations on the actual election day as well. Dunno about other states, but it was pretty popular here in FL during the last Presidential election. I forget the percentage, but it accounted for a big chunk of the total votes cast. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/8 "2011-05-20T04:14:35Z")
The OP could be right. But it would have been better had he linked to the actual bill, or at least an news article about the bill. As it is, all we have is an editorial. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/9 "2011-05-20T04:57:31Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > Not that I’m backing these “reforms”, as it were, but why is voting in person such a big deal? Except when I find myself overseas and have no choice but to put in an absentee ballot, I manage to make it to the polling station every election day to cast my vote in person. I wouldn’t consider it a “pain in the ass”, I consider it part of the act of voting. There are some days when I can’t leave the house, because I’m just too sick. It’s nice to be able to wander down to the early voting station on one of the days when I’m not too goddamn weak to leave the house, and cast my vote. ---
**Author:** ![Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@Swords\_to\_Plowshares](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swords_to_Plowshares)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/10 "2011-05-20T05:28:54Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > Not that I’m backing these “reforms”, as it were, but why is voting in person such a big deal? Except when I find myself overseas and have no choice but to put in an absentee ballot, I manage to make it to the polling station every election day to cast my vote in person. I wouldn’t consider it a “pain in the ass”, I consider it part of the act of voting. The one and only time I voted in person there was some problem with the system, and it took them over an hour to let me vote. Yeah, that was a pain in the ass. I even went in during early voting so there were very few people there. That may have been an isolated incident, but voting isn’t always just waltz in, waltz out. Never mind the huge lines that form on presidential election days. And of course people have work obligations and other such things. By the way, fuck you, Rick Scott. You were a corrupt business man before politics, and politics don’t really do much to improve one’s character. You’re a cancer on the state. As if we needed more pity and disdain from the other 49. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/11 "2011-05-20T05:46:46Z")
I’m just wondering what will be the last straw to get him recalled. ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/12 "2011-05-20T07:30:50Z")
[What are polls?](http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/aub/news/election/119287169.html) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/13 "2011-05-20T08:26:03Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > So you still vote in person, but instead of having to either duck out of work mid-day or go after five and stand in line for an hour, you can do it during the weekend. . I have been voting in person on election day for nearly 30 years. In Ohio and California, almost always after work. I have never, NEVER stood in line for an hour. There is\* barely \*ever a line at all. And I have lived in L.A for 25 years. I find it hard to believe that voting in the San Fernando Valley is any more efficient than in other parts of the country. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/14 "2011-05-20T12:10:14Z")
> [@Cyberhwk](#): > > [What are polls?](http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/aub/news/election/119287169.html) 😉 As an Oregonian, I too am also confused. What’s a “voting booth”? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/15 "2011-05-20T12:15:52Z")
> [@](#): > > I have been voting in person on election day for nearly 30 years. In Ohio and California, almost always after work. > > I have never, NEVER stood in line for an hour. There is barely ever a line at all. And I have lived in L.A for 25 years. It’s pretty rare, but it DOES happen now and then. In the last Presidential election, I voted on the actual voting day. A grand total of FIVE people showed up, all that day, at the polling place. There were more workers than voters. I showed up about 15 minutes before closing, and the workers told me that I was number five. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/16 "2011-05-20T12:25:22Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > I find it hard to believe that voting in the San Fernando Valley is any more efficient than in other parts of the country. :eek: Alternately, it could be voter apathy in your area. When I was a college student in Madison, WI - a very politically-active town - I waited in line for probably close to two hours to vote, just due to the sheer number of people trying to vote. There weren’t any electronic machines to break at that time, so that wasn’t it. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/17 "2011-05-20T12:33:13Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Sick, weak, old, crippled, no car, …lots of reasons. Some people live out in the country, some on top of mountains. Many travel a lot due to business or family. Then why not vote absentee? ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/18 "2011-05-20T12:47:35Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > The OP could be right. But it would have been better had he linked to the actual bill, or at least an news article about the bill. As it is, all we have is an editorial. [Same source, but a news article](http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/gov-rick-scott-signs-controversial-election-bill-into-law/1170547). ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/19 "2011-05-20T12:54:22Z")
So now “voting rights” includes a right to vote early? ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2011, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526/20 "2011-05-20T13:26:23Z")
> [@spooje](#): > > I have been voting in person on election day for nearly 30 years. In Ohio and California, almost always after work. > > I have never, NEVER stood in line for an hour. There is\* barely \*ever a line at all. And I have lived in L.A for 25 years. > > I find it hard to believe that voting in the San Fernando Valley is any more efficient than in other parts of the country. :eek: I vote in Fairfax County, VA and there is always a long wait. An hour and a half wait for each of the last two presidental elections. Part of that is that my polling place is poorly organize and also, anyone over 65 they allow to go to the front of the line which seems very wrong to me but nobody else seems outraged. > [@Bricker](#): > > So now “voting rights” includes a right to vote early? Yeah, I agree. I’m very surprised by all the voting options. If a lot of people are “voting early” than shouldn’t we just call that “voting” and do it that way for everyone? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-rick-scott-the-fl-gop-and-their-blatant-attempt-to-suppress-voting-rights/582526.md?page=2)