So, what's up with Florida?

[LH75]

The election is over. President Obama is going to serve a second term. The electoral votes from Florida will not change this. This site has Florida with 100% of the votes in. Mr. Obama has a margin of 47,493 votes.

Call the race already and move on!

[ladyfoxfyre]

Any margin under 50,000 will trigger an automatic recount. You’re right that it is over, the state will go to Obama, but the events of 2000 make any news organization exceedingly loathe to call Florida for anybody anymore.

[pulykamell]

Probably some auto-recount provision they’re hammering out, no? Would the expense of an automatic recount go through if it doesn’t make a difference in the final total?

[Drain_Bead]

Can Romney tell Florida to not bother?

[drewtwo99]

Yeah honestly… it seems like an expensive waste of time to do a recount. I hope there’s some provision in the “automatic recount” law that says that if both candidates agree it’s unnecessary, that they can stop it.

However, I wouldn’t be surprised that even if something like that existed, Romney would still want the recount to go through so he could possibly get a few more electoral votes, ha!

[Revtim]

As a Floridian, I’d like to know where my electoral votes end up going.

[ladyfoxfyre]

It’ll go to Obama.

[howye]

According to this local news site: http://www.actionnewsjax.com/content/topstories/story/Florida-vote-in-limbo/RHwE43crjEyt4uODDO8AsQ.cspx

the issue is absentee and provisional ballots. Given the length of the ballot in Florida this time, it is understandable that those would take a while. I am guessing those don’t get counted until after polls are closed. One change they could look at is doing that counting once the polls open on election day. That is how it is done in Ohio for absentee and early voters. As soon as closing time rolls around the absentee numbers are posted.

Also, that site reports a recount is triggered with a margin of less than a half of a percent.

[Marley23]

The issue is the provisional ballots howye mentioned. In Florida there are usually a lot of them, although the number in the story (9,000) doesn’t sound especially huge. It’s always something in Florida, although a lot of states need major improvements in their handling of elections.

[pulykamell]

@drewtwo99

Yeah honestly… it seems like an expensive waste of time to do a recount. I hope there’s some provision in the “automatic recount” law that says that if both candidates agree it’s unnecessary, that they can stop it.

However, I wouldn’t be surprised that even if something like that existed, Romney would still want the recount to go through so he could possibly get a few more electoral votes, ha!

From a philosophical and idealistic standpoint, I could see the reasoning: you want everyone to know their vote counts, the democracy is a Very Serious Thing With Rules and Procedures That Must Be Followed, etc., so voters don’t feel disenfranchised. I get that. But, yeah, an opt-out clause would be nice as a matter of practicality and fiscal sense.

[tomndebb]

They are probably going through polling center trash baskets making sure they have all the chads.

[Morgenstern]

Tell me what the deal is with voting in Florida anyway. I’ve seen film of people standing in lines that are hours long? Do they have so few places to vote that the ones they have are that crowded? What’s the deal?

I guess I’m spoiled. I vote in California and I’ve never waited more than 5 minutes.

[galen_ubal]

That’s a good question - seems like the voting infrastructure needs sprucing up, at least.

As far as the counts, here is a breakdown of reporting status by county. All of the precincts have reported in, but the Provisional and Federal Absentee ballots are still being counted by almost every county.

And since one of those Absentee ballots is mine, I’d like it counted, thank you very much.

[Lanzy]

@Morgenstern

Tell me what the deal is with voting in Florida anyway. I’ve seen film of people standing in lines that are hours long? Do they have so few places to vote that the ones they have are that crowded? What’s the deal?

I guess I’m spoiled. I vote in California and I’ve never waited more than 5 minutes.

Beats me. I live in orlando and voted by mail, which Everyone is allowed to do. There is also early voting, which everyone is allowed to do. It might be a secret IQ test of some kind.

[Tom_Scud]

Here’s a news article on the potential recount.

It says

Florida Secretary of State spokesman Chris Cate says counting absentee ballots is more time consuming because it’s not as simple as running them through a machine. Local canvassing boards must verify the signature on a ballot before it can be counted.

President Obama leads Romney by about 45,000 votes out of 8.3 million ballots cast in Florida.

That margin is just over a half percent. If the final tally falls within a half percent, then state law orders a recount.

But it also says that Romney has the option to decline a recount (as presumably would Obama if the remaining ballots somehow flipped 50,000 votes Romney’s way).

I’d expect Romney to do so, just because it would do him no good whatsoever to ask for a recount whereas saying “it’s time to put this behind us” and “I want to save the Florida taxpayers an unnecessary expense” would make him look good.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

@Morgenstern

Tell me what the deal is with voting in Florida anyway. I’ve seen film of people standing in lines that are hours long? Do they have so few places to vote that the ones they have are that crowded? What’s the deal?

We had record turnout, and we’re not very good at this democracy thing.

[voltaire]

@Morgenstern

Tell me what the deal is with voting in Florida anyway. I’ve seen film of people standing in lines that are hours long? Do they have so few places to vote that the ones they have are that crowded? What’s the deal?

I guess I’m spoiled. I vote in California and I’ve never waited more than 5 minutes.

As has been mentioned, the ballots were quite long and chock full of obscure and time-consuming referendums and state constitutional amendments. I think it took around 30 minutes+ average per voter to complete a ballot.

With stuff like this, it’s no wonder the lines moved slowly:

But what may prompt some voters to rub their eyes in disbelief is the  Legislature's decision to place 11 proposed changes to the Constitution  on the ballot, some of which appear in their entirety.    
"They have really created a monster," said Monroe County Supervisor of Elections Harry Sawyer Jr. in Key West.    
Four amendments run on for hundreds of words, and are full of  legalese such as this, on Amendment No. 5, dealing with the court  system: **"If the Legislature determines that a rule has been readopted  and repeals the readopted rule, this proposed revision prohibits the  court from further readopting the repealed rule without the  Legislature's prior approval."**

Florida voters facing a long, long ballot in November

[BrainGlutton]

@Really_Not_All_That_Bright

We had record turnout, and we’re not very good at this democracy thing.

Yeah, why is that? We’ve had it as long as most other states.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

I blame all the New Yorkers.

[BrainGlutton]

@voltaire

As has been mentioned, the ballots were quite long and chock full of obscure and time-consuming referendums and state constitutional amendments. I think it took around 30 minutes+ average per voter to complete a ballot.

With stuff like this, it’s no wonder the lines moved slowly:
Florida voters facing a long, long ballot in November

One is tempted to suspect the Republicans (all 11 amendments were sponsored by Pub state legislators) of intending that effect.