Early-voting and absentee-ballot voting have become very popular. A poll released Oct. 11 by NBC, the Wall Street Journal and Marist College showed 38 percent of Floridians plan to vote early or cast absentee ballots, with 45 percent aiming for a traditional Election Day ballot. Another 17 percent were undecided. Both parties like the early voters — because those are essentially votes in the bank for their candidates. And in recent elections, Republicans have done the best job of getting their voters to cast absentee ballots, while the Democrats have benefited from the early-voting days.

There’s an indication those trends are changing in this election cycle. Democrats seemed to have narrowed the advantage that the Republicans have in the absentee ballots. But the Democrats also face a shortened early-voting period, which begins Oct. 27 but will be a week shorter than 2008 because of changes in state elections law made by the Legislature in 2011. Of the nearly 2 million absentee ballots that have been requested, Republicans asked for 43.4 percent, compared to 39 percent for the Democrats — an advantage cited by the Romney campaign. In a briefing for national reporters on Thursday, Jen Psaki, a press secretary for the Obama effort, cited Democrats’ efforts to close the absentee ballot gap in Florida.

"At this point in 2008, Republicans outnumbered Democrats among absentee mail voters by more than 245,000," Psaki said, according to a transcript of her remarks. "We’ve narrowed that gap, that margin, so now it’s just over 70,000."

Meanwhile, Democrats are modifying their strategy for dealing with shorter early-voting period. One element they must face is a lack of early voting on the Sunday before the Nov. 6 election. In 2008, the Sunday before the election was a key day for African-American churches to get their voters to the polls, in the so-called "Souls to the Polls" initiative.

This year, the churches are targeting Oct. 28 for “Souls to the Polls.”

Week in Review

"Week in Review for Oct. 8 to Oct. 12". See also "Weekly Roundup: Being Sucked into the Election Vortex".

Alleged voting fraud scheme

"Lawyers for six of the nine defendants accused in an alleged voting fraud scheme in northern Florida asked a judge to dismiss the charges Friday, saying the state is attempting suppress black voter turnout by criminalizing technical election law violations. The charges stem from a Madison County School Board election two years ago that was decided by 28 votes. The defendants include the winning candidate and the county's top election official." "Fla. election fraud defendants seek dismissal".

Nelson continues to lead Mack

"Sen. Bill Nelson is drawing support from Florida’s crucial I-4 corridor and among seniors, younger voters and Hispanics, while Republican challenger Connie Mack dominates in North and Southwest Florida." "Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times poll: Sen. Bill Nelson continues to lead Connie Mack, 47-42 percent".

Tuition increases on the horizon

"Under one proposal, university funding would be determined by how well individual schools meet accountability benchmarks, including a measurement of how many students find jobs." "Higher education task force considers big changes, higher tuition". See also "Higher education task force enters home stretch" and "Scott higher ed panel weighs tuition increases".

Campaign Roundup

"Campaign Roundup: Absentee ballot misprints and election misfits".

Never mind her battle with breast cancer

"Florida congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is sparring with her Republican challenger over whether it's appropriate on the campaign trail to highlight being a cancer survivor. Republican Karen Harrington is accusing Wasserman Schultz, who is also the chair of the Democratic National Committee, of referring to her battle with breast cancer in a recent campaign flier to score political points in her South Florida district." "Wasserman Schultz, GOP foe spar over cancer issue".

Deep thinkers

The ink stained wretches over at the Sunshine State News give us a lesson in constitutional jurisprudence this morning: "Just How Activist Are Florida Justices Pariente, Lewis, and Quince? A Look at Vouchers". Meanwhile, "3 GOP senators endorse Supreme Court justices".

But this federal largess OK

"Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Texas Gov. Rick Perry are urging President Obama to set aside plans to retire the C-23 Sherpa transport planes, known by some as 'flying shoeboxes,' that have proven their efficiency in loading troops and cargo through more than two decades of use." "Rick Scott, Rick Perry Urge Obama to Rethink Scuttling of Emergency Aircraft".

"Embarrassing leaks from Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll's office"

"A stern circuit judge complained that the case of embarrassing leaks from Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll's office "is getting way out of hand" Thursday and bluntly told attorneys on both sides he won't let them air the lurid allegations in the news media."

Judge Frank Sheffield said he would decide on a witness-by-witness basis whether attorneys for Carletha Cole can take testimony from Carroll and other officers of Gov. Rick Scott's administration. He told defense attorney Stephen Webster to submit lists of potential witnesses -- so Cole's lawyers can't "go on a fishing expedition" for irrelevant information -- but also told Jesse Panuccio, the governor's general counsel, he won't exclude pertinent witnesses just because they might make some high-level government officials uncomfortable.

Convention over ... Scott goes after massage parlors

"Gov. Rick Scott announced the suspension of 81 massage licenses he said had been illegally obtained for $10,000 or more each through an unnamed state massage school." "Tampa targets massage parlors that front for prostitution".

Mack alleges that poll results are skewed

"A new poll showing Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson with a large lead over Republican challenger Rep. Connie Mack IV — and showing President Barack Obama clinging to a razor-thin lead in Florida — has reawakened allegations from the Mack campaign that results are skewed." "Differing poll results raising new questions on accuracy".

Nelson kicks off cross-state tour

"Incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is kicking off a cross-state tour for his re-election campaign with a Sanford appearance alongside singer Jimmy Buffett." "Sen. Nelson kicks off statewide tour".

Romney steals "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose" slogan

"The creator of TV's 'Friday Night Lights' is accusing Mitt Romney of plagiarizing a phrase from the show to use as a campaign slogan."

Peter Berg wrote a letter to Romney today saying he's "not thrilled" that the Republican presidential candidate is using the phrase "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose" on campaign posters and his Facebook page. . . .

Berg's agent distributed the letter to the media. In it, the writer-director-actor says Romney's politics and campaign aren't aligned with the themes of the TV series.

Entrepreneur in action

"Man pleads guilty to $1.9 million TV infomercial fraud".

All of that and nothing

"Florida's workers compensation insurance rates have climbed from 40th to 29th most expensive in the nation over the last two years. That 11-point increase was reported in a study released this week by the Oregon Department of Consumer & Business Services. It issues a comparison of rates in the 50 states on Jan. 1 of each even-numbered year." "Florida workers comp rates now 29th most expensive".

Palm Beach County absentee ballots in limbo

"About 10,000 absentee ballots have been in limbo since Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Susan Bucher discovered that there was a mistake on about 60,000 ballots that were mailed out Oct. 2."

But, she said Friday, that’s a good thing.

The 10,000 ballots were in the batch that had printing errors. Tabulating machines won’t be able to read about half of the flawed ballots. So when voters return them, they will have to be hand-copied onto new ballots which will be fed through machines.

“We stopped 10,000 from going out,” she said. Workers were stuffing new ballots into envelopes Friday, in hopes of getting them in the mail.

CD 26 race "setting a new standard for dirty tricks"

"A campaign finance scandal involving a South Florida Republican could open the door to a surprise congressional victory for his Democratic party challenger, resulting in the election of Miami's first Cuban-American Democrat. The race for Florida's 26th district between two rival Cuban Americans is setting a new standard for dirty tricks, even for Miami's politically passionate Cuban exile community." "Scandal rocks Cuban-American congressional race in Miami".

"An ideologically driven backwater"

The Tampa Bay Times editorial board wonders if Pinellas County will remain "an ideologically driven backwater that takes fluoride out of the drinking water, caves in to vocal extremists and refuses to invest in the future?" "Bring Pinellas commission back to mainstream".

"It certainly doesn’t pass the smell test"

"Representatives with three left-leaning voter groups suddenly facing allegations of voter registration wrong-doing say Florida elections officials are diverting attention from a criminal investigation into suspicious applications filed on behalf of the Republican Party of Florida by trumping up accusations against them."

Florida Division of Elections spokesman Chris Cate told reporters last week that forms filed by the state Democratic Party, the Florida New Majority Education Fund and the National Council of La Raza involved "potential irregular voter registration activities" that "constituted a legally sufficient complaint of voter registration fraud."

Representatives for all three deny fraud took place and say the state has yet to contact them about the allegations.

"It certainly doesn’t pass the smell test that this information was released to the press before the party was ever notified," said Florida Democratic Party spokeswoman Brannon Jordan. "Both the timing and release of this information appears highly political."

The allegations were announced two days after the FDLE launched a criminal investigation into voter applications filed by Strategic Allied Consulting, a private firm hired by the RPOF to register voters. Hundreds of questionable registration forms have been found in a dozen counties, spanning from South Florida to the Panhandle. Republicans, who had made voter fraud a top campaign issue, reacted swiftly by firing the firm and filing an elections complaint against it.

They’ve also responded by filing dubious allegations against other groups, said Rebecca Wakefield, spokeswoman for the Education Fund, a nonpartisan group that aims to increase voter registration among under-represented groups.

"It’s clear to us that this was all about timing," Wakefield said. "It’s a distraction from the Republican case which made such big national news a few days before. This is all about Florida politics."

La Raza spokeswoman Camila Gallardo said her group had registered more than 50,000 voters since March with no complaints. She said it wasn’t until the final week before the Oct. 8 registration deadline that her group, the largest Hispanic civil rights organization in the United States, was hit with two fraud allegations.

"The hidden hand of the marketplace — a hand with the middle finger sticking up"

"Five of Florida’s former governors met at the University of Florida Friday and offered up a stern bi-partisan warning about the future direction of the state. The governors — Reubin Askew, Bob Graham, Bob Martinez, Buddy MacKay and Charlie Crist — lamented the loss of environmental protections, the dismantling of guided growth management, and the recent partisan assault on the Florida Supreme Court."

Absent from the panel was former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush. The “Conversation with Florida Governors” was sponsored by the UF law school’s Law Review as part of the Allen L. Poucher Legal Education Series.

Askew, who as a Democratic governor (1971-79) ushered in judicial reform and the non-partisan merit retention elections for the Supreme Court, said he was disappointed that the Republican Party had joined in the push to oppose the three justices up for merit retention. He chided critics who claim that the justices should not be judged by their records.

“The Republican Party is, I think, making a serious mistake when it injects a partisan view on what should be a non-partisan system,’’ he said. But, “an election is an election” and “people can’t get told what they can consider.”

MacKay, the former Democratic legislator and congressman who served as lieutenant governor under the late Gov. Lawton Chiles from 1991-97, chided the Republican-led legislature as having forgotten the state’s past.

He recalled how the Legislature in the 1970s was controlled by a tight-knit group of conservative leaders who “were facing the wrong direction.”

“We were the fastest growing state and they were fighting change,’’ MacKay recalled. “The state didn’t have any plan, we were growing 1,000 net new residents a day and a lot of people said let the market take care of it.”

Today’s legislative leadership “is basically faced in the wrong direction” again, he said, “ blaming things on the federal government and basically saying we don’t need a plan: let the hidden hand of the market take care of it.”

He drew chuckles and applause from the crowd when he said Gov. Rick Scott also “believes in the hidden hand of the marketplace — which some people think is a fist clenched. Others believe it’s a hand with the middle finger sticking up.’’

Romney’s 51-44 percent advantage is just on the cusp of the poll’s error margin — and it marks a dramatic 8-point shift since last month.

“Obama’s now swimming upstream,” said Brad Coker, pollster with Mason Dixon Polling & Research, which conducted the survey of 800 likely Florida voters this month and last for The Herald and its news partners, including Bay News 9 and Central Florida News 13.

The previous poll, which showed Obama with an inside-the-error-margin lead, was before last Wednesday’s debate when Obama gave a lackluster performance while Romney appeared to excel.

This latest poll showed that 5 percent of those who said they were undecided before the debate say they’ll vote for Romney. And 4 percent of those who said they favored Obama pre-debate moved away from the president — 2 percent toward Romney and 2 percent undecided.

The one percent blues

John Romano has some fun with Orlando's creepy time share mogul, remarking that Mr. "Siegel is no different from any other working stiff. Any other working stiff on the Forbes 400 list, that is."

Siegel said as much in 2008 when he was ordered by a jury to pay more than $5 million to a former employee who had filed a sexual harassment suit.

"Those people were not my peers,'' Siegel told an Orlando TV station. "I mean, they should have had Bill Gates here if they want to have a jury of my peers.'' . . .

Doesn't every new home have 10 kitchens, a bowling alley, an ice skating rink, two movie theatres, two tennis courts, a baseball field, a video arcade and a 20-car garage?

"One of the scariest addresses in Florida"

"Nancy Watkins' accounting office on a leafy street in South Tampa may be one of the scariest addresses in Florida — for Democrats. Inside the whitewashed, one-story structure, Watkins tracks millions of dollars in fundraising and spending that flow through dozens of shadowy political committees backing Republican candidates and causes." "Tampa accountant keeps tabs on GOP's campaign cash".

Plus they read books and stuff

"Florida Gov. Rick Scott is asking his chief inspector general to review the contracts of the 28 presidents who serve in the state college system." "Gov. Scott wants probe of college president salaries".

"Mike Horner" is not the guy hanging out at the brothel

"Republicans involved in the District 42 House race between Republican Michael LaRosa and Democrat Eileen Game say the Democratic Party of Florida is deliberately attempting to trick voters into believing they're voting for Rep. Mike Horner, the candidate who resigned on Sept. 24 and is no longer in the race." "Deception in District 42: Democrat Mailer Passes Off Disgraced Mike Horner as Michael LaRosa".

"Student goals based on race"

"The plan calls for ambitious but realistic goals, the Florida Department of Education says." "Florida to measure student goals based on race".

Martinez drops absentee ballot suit

"Almost two months after losing a run for county mayor and filing a lawsuit suggesting fraud involving absentee ballots, County Commission Chairman Joe Martinez has decided to abandon his quest."

Martinez and Property Appraiser Pedro J. Garcia, who also lost, filed complaints after the election, seeking to throw out absentee ballots in light of an ongoing investigation in Hialeah that has netted two arrests for alleged fraud. Had the more-than 80,000 absentee ballots not been counted, Garcia would have won his election over challenger Carlos Lopez-Cantera, and Martinez would be in a Nov. 6 runoff against Gimenez.

"Can Cannon make the same claim? Even in front of a mirror?"

Daniel Ruth: "Lame duck (in more ways than one) Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon was in a grumpy mood. These sorts of things happen when term-limited big shots on the way out the door are being accused of engaging in specious, politically motivated, pouty efforts to subvert the integrity of the Florida Supreme Court."

Oh, the nerve of some people!

So there was Cannon railing against criticisms of Amendment 5, which would allow the Florida Senate to confirm appointments to the high court and grant the House speaker access to the investigative files of the Judicial Qualifications Commission.

Cannon also is among the Republicans pushing voters to oust three Supreme Court justices up for merit retention because they had the temerity to take three of the Legislature's proposed constitutional amendments off the 2010 ballot. He had an overly ripe riposte for his critics, noting they delude themselves into casting "politics as a kind of Great Morality Play."

It is noteworthy that the speaker's characterization of his detractors as being unduly preoccupied with morality was intended as a criticism.

But I think I knew Gibbons well enough to suspect the former congressman might have offered up an harrumph or two with the thought: "That's one of the most bone-headed things I've ever read from an elected official."

When practiced at its most ideal level, the legislative process should indeed be viewed through the prism of a Great Morality Play.

Sam Gibbons certainly did that. During a 44-year political career — from his early service in the Florida Legislature through more than three decades as a congressman — Gibbons was at the forefront of the some of the most profound social and moral issues in the nation's history.

He was a major figure in the passage of the Voting Rights Act and the founding of Head Start, Medicare and a host of antipoverty programs. He also was the guiding force behind the creation of the University of South Florida.

These were more than pieces of dryly written legislation. They were programs designed to help improve the lives of people. What is more moral than that? Isn't that the whole idea behind public service?

Gibbons wasn't always right. He came late to admitting the folly of his support for the war in Vietnam. He could be testy. But we don't elect people to office because they are omniscient. Or perfect. It is enough to expect them to be intellectually honest. And Gibbons more than passed that litmus test.

Can Cannon make the same claim? Even in front of a mirror?

Teabaggers in a dither

"The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid plummeted last week to seasonally adjusted 339,000, the lowest level in more than four years." "Jobless claims fall to 339,000".

Romney's "extreme makeover"

"President Obama returns to Florida, attacks Romney for 'extreme makeover'".

GOP-controlled Legislature shortened number voting hours and lengthened ballot

Marc Caputo: "A warning to Florida voters: Be prepared to pack plenty of patience at the polls."

In what amounted to a dry run for early voting and Election Day, President Barack Obama's campaign encouraged supporters Wednesday to cast mail-in ballots in person at elections offices throughout Florida, where voters said people need to do their homework and to be prepared for a long stay because of lengthy ballots.

It took some voters an hour to cast their ballots Wednesday morning in Miami-Dade. In St. Petersburg and in Tampa, there was no wait in the afternoon.

Many more Floridians — 76,000 and counting — are voting from the comfort of their own homes by mailing in absentee ballots. Republicans hold a small edge.

Democrats have historically waited until the start of in-person early voting before they cast their ballots.

But the GOP-controlled Legislature shortened the number of in-person early voting hours compared with 2008's. It also lengthened the ballot with 11 proposed constitutional amendments printed in full for the first time ever.

Registration surge

Jeremy Wallace: "Even before the voter registration deadline hit Wednesday for the Nov. 6 election, Sarasota County was seeing a big surge in new voters over the last three months. Since July, Sarasota’s registered voters have jumped from 270,287 to 275,625. That is nearly a 2 percent increase in the total number of voters in three months." "Sarasota County adds 5,000 voters in 3 months".

Wrong number

Frank Cerabino: "Gov. Scott makes the meningitis hotline even hotter".

Florida Republicans play ECO games

"Since the beginning of September, a murky political committee set up by some prominent Republican strategists has been sending mailers attacking Democratic candidates in at least eight state Senate races across Florida."

And yet the group — known only as "Progressives" — claims in state filings that it has not yet raised or spent a single dime.

Democrats accuse the group of flouting Florida campaign-finance laws, which are designed to ensure voters can find out who is paying for any political advertisements. Independent legal experts agree.

The organization's chairman is Stafford Jones, head of the Republican Party in Alachua County. Jones also serves as an officer for a separate political group controlled by incoming Senate President Don Gaetz, who is in charge of GOP Senate campaigns.

Neither Coates nor Jones responded to repeated requests for comment.

A spokeswoman for Gaetz, R-Niceville, said he "oversees a variety of political operations related to Senate campaigns but is not involved in the day-to-day operations of this or any other outside organization."

Kristen McDonald, a spokeswoman for the Republican Party of Florida, said the party has no involvement with Progressives and has not given money to the group.

Progressives is registered with the state as an "Electioneering Communications Organization," or ECO. As such, experts say, it should be disclosing its donors and expenditures.

"Rich old buffoon longing the days of the robber barons" threatens employees with termination if Obama wins

Fred Grimm: "David Siegel, Florida’s unloved icon of wretched excess, would seem to make it easy for writers of satirical columns. He writes his own stuff."

Siegel, the Orlando timeshare mogul, just fired off an email to his 7,000 employees telling them who should get their vote, the Orlando Sentinel reported Wednesday. Because if Obama wins, they can kiss their jobs goodbye. . . .

What ought to make his edict so delicious is the accompanying recitation of the hardships he’s endured since President Barack Obama took office. “Over the past four years I have had to stop building my dream house, cut back on all of my expenses, and take my kids out of private schools. . . .”

Some dream house. Siegel and his much younger ex-model wife were erecting a 90,000-square foot, $100-million monument to garish pomposity on the shores of Lake Butler, near Orlando, before the timeshare business crashed in 2008. It was to have been the largest single-family home (along with the servant quarters) in America. (Siegel now claims that with his timeshare business back in the black, he’s resuming construction.) The Siegels’ extravagant bad taste and their “struggle” to finish their outlandish home was depicted in a satirical documentary, The Queen of Versailles, released in the summer.

Siegel — reports of his age range from 75 to 79 — has become another prominent old cuss who’s talked (or emailed or tweeted) his way into the object of public ridicule.

We’ve had old Jack Welch, 77, tweeting a paranoid conspiracy theory about the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Old Clint Eastwood, 82, going off on a bizarre conversation with an empty chair at the Republican National Convention.

"Vote Now!"

"Democrats urging people to vote absentee – in person". However, the Miami Herald reports that "In trial run, early voters learn that long ballots mean long waits" ("The Obama campaign’s decision to get voters to cast their mail-in ballots at elections offices gave a glimpse into the wait times voters can expect on Election Day or when early voting kicks in Oct. 27.")

Related: "76,000 Votes Already Cast in Must-Win Florida".

While the pension haters went for donuts . . .

. . . "a construction worker was pulled out alive from under a huge slab of concrete early Thursday" by Miami-Dade firefighters with specialized training in technical rescues. "Man pulled from rubble of collapsed Florida garage".

Where's Rick Scott?

"For the first time since 2005, Florida led the nation for foreclosures, according to a report by a real-estate research group that tracks home sales across the country." "Florida leads nation in foreclosures". See also "Fla. ranks first in foreclosure activity since 2005".

West imports wingnuts

"An Israeli lawmaker visiting Century Village of West Palm Beach on Wednesday said President Obama is 'not a friend of Israel.'"

Danny Danon, the deputy speaker of Israel’s Knesset, told about 200 people at the heavily Jewish retirement community that his criticism of Obama wasn’t intended to influence the upcoming election.

Danon, who has been in the U.S. promoting a book, spoke at an Israel-themed event put on by the campaign of U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Palm Beach Gardens, who faces Democrat Patrick Murphy in the race for congressional District 18.

“Even if you care only about the interests of the American people, you have to stand with Israel. You have to stand and support Israel. And I can tell you very clearly that President Obama was not a friend of Israel,” Danon said.

Obama at UM

"Obama to speak Thursday at free UM event".

Carroll hiding under her desk

"The administration of Gov. Rick Scott is heading to court to get a protective order so Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll doesn't have to answer questions in a criminal case involving one of her former aides." "Fla. judge to decide whether to shield Carroll". See also "Fla. judge to decide whether to shield Carroll".

Grading controversy

"Florida's public school students will be judged in part by race and ethnicity, under new education benchmarks approved this week."

And that has created a firestorm in South Florida.

Opponents say setting higher goals for whites and Asians and lower goals for Latino and black groups is insulting and feeds racial stereotypes.

Gov. Scott directs meningitis questions to phone sex chat line

"While outlining Florida's response to the national meningitis outbreak, Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday mistakenly gave out a telephone number to a phone sex chat line, WPLG-Ch. 10 reported." "Report: Governor mistakenly directs callers to HOTline".

"Purging those felons"

"Broward Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes said Wednesday she yanked five ballots before they could be mailed this week to convicted felons who have been accused of voting illegally." "Elections supervisor: I'm purging those felons".

Marquee Race

"Steve Southerland vs. Al Lawson Becoming a Marquee Race".

Thousands of mail ballots were discarded in August primary

"From Key West to Pensacola, thousands of absentee or mail ballots were discarded in the Aug. 14 statewide primary because voters overlooked a requirement that they sign the envelope containing their ballot, even though the instructions conspicuously remind voters to do it." "Want your vote to count? Be sure to sign your absentee ballot, election officials say".

Republicans form caucus to "defend religious freedom"

"Eight prominent [Republican] lawmakers from around the Sunshine State announced Wednesday they were banding together to form the nucleus of a new 'Religious Freedom Caucus' in the Florida Legislature."

The announcement was made via a press release by the American Religious Freedom Program (ARFP) of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a think tank based in Washington, D.C. The release said caucuses had been launched in eight other states, and said plans were underway to establish one in each of the nation’s 50 state legislatures by the end of 2013.

Florida’s caucus is being chaired by Rep. Steve Precourt, R-Orlando. He is joined by Sen. Thad Altman, R-Melbourne; Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami; Rep. Janet Adkins, R- Fernandina Beach; Rep. Ben Albritton, R- Wauchula; Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala; Rep. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland; and Rep. Charles Van Zant, R-Keystone Heights.

Wage Theft

"Wage Theft in Broward County: The Accumulating Evidence of a Spreading Illegal Anti-Business Practice".

Gibbons passes

"Sam Gibbons, Tampa's hero". The Tampa Bay Times editorial board: "Gibbons represented bay area with dignity".

"Concern is particularly intense among African-American and Hispanic voters"

"With polls showing a close race between President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney, a relative handful of votes either way in a battleground state like Florida or Ohio could make all the difference. The potential for disruptive crowds of observers at some precincts has sparked fears that voters may be intimidated or harassed or have their eligibility to vote challenged directly. The concern is particularly intense among African-American and Hispanic voters, who historically have suffered discrimination and were targeted anew in more recent elections, civil rights leaders say." "At polls, fears of voter suppression, intimidation".

Palm Beach ballot problem

Ashley Lopez writes that "there is no title for a section on the ballot asking voters to vote on whether to keep Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince in their positions on the Florida Supreme Court. Palm Beach Elections Supervisor Susan Bucher said that the Arizona printing company that created the ballots is to blame. She also told reporters that titles were only meant to make the lengthy and confusing ballot easier to read. She said she didn’t really need to include the titles."

If we see an enormous Miami-Dade margin of victory for Barack Obama as the returns come in, it probably means he wins Florida's 29 electoral votes and another presidential term.

But this is Miami, so it's likely we'll have to wait on the vote tally because some precinct worker is stuck in traffic behind a delivery truck parked for no clear reason on the interstate express lane. Or stuck behind a grisly crime scene, perhaps involving face-eating. Maybe behind paparazzi stalking a misbehaving celebrity.

There's a reason the Obama campaign has 12 offices in Miami-Dade, and the Mitt Romney operation has four. Size matters and so do demographics. The county is home to 1.2 million voters, including 540,000 Democrats and 371,000 Republicans. Only about one in four is non-Hispanic white voters.

Four years ago, Obama won Miami-Dade by more than 139,000 votes ­— nearly 60 percent of his statewide victory margin and the biggest margin of any Florida county. Compare that with John Kerry in 2004, who won here by nearly 49,000 votes, and Al Gore ­— damaged by the Clinton-Gore administration's decision to return Elian to Cuba ­— who in 2000 won it by about 39,000.

Broward County has long been viewed as the ultimate Democratic stronghold in Florida, but Obama won 7,100 more votes out of Miami-Dade than he did in Broward, a first in modern history.

To many veterans of Florida politics it was an astounding Miami-Dade outcome. The bad news for the president? If he fails to match it this November, Florida's 29 electoral votes ­may flip to Romney.

Obama's support among white voters is likely to dip across the state. Few Democrats will predict with a straight face that he will match his 2008 performance in places like Sarasota, Polk and Lee counties.

Squeezing every last vote out of Miami-Dade is critical to Obama's prospects.

Another fine Jebacy

"As Miami-Dade schools chief Alberto Carvalho stumps for the district’s $1.2 billion bond proposal, schools and groups have started jockeying for potential dollars. Even a charter school, Doctors Charter School of Miami Shores, would like some. In a letter to the Miami-Dade School Board, the charter school’s board presented its financial case and said it has plans for a new gym and needs dressing rooms for P.E." "Charter school lobbies for potential Miami-Dade bond money".

Rubio pushes transformation of Medicare to Vouchercare

"With an earnest look full of concern, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio is warning television viewers in Florida that the nation must transform Medicare in order to save it, saying it's "the least we can do" for the sake of older people like his 81-year-old mother. The Florida senator's Medicare ad is designed to sell Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's plan to cut the popular program and turn it into a voucher-like system." "Rubio brings star power to pitch Romney Medicare plan".

Romney starting with the Dubya "heart" thing

"With a crowd of 13,000 pumped up by Mitt Romney’s performance in last week’s presidential debate, the applause lines came easily for the GOP nominee and other speakers at a rally Sunday afternoon that capped a three-day Florida campaign swing." "Romney rides debate surge into Port St. Lucie for speech; ‘I’ve seen the heart of the American people,’ he tells crowd of 13,000".

'Baggers in a dither

A detailed discussion of Bill Nelson's record: "Congressional ratings indicate Nelson is a centrist".

No one hugged him

"Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney invaded the region where President Obama last month received an infamous hug from a pizza shop owner." "Romney Draws a Kiss, Vibrant Crowd in Land of Obama’s Pizza-Parlor Hug".

CD 18

"Negative Ads Dominate Heavily Watched, Financed Allen West-Patrick Murphy District 18 Contest".

"More than 80 percent of registered voters cast ballots"

"Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez scored a comfortable election victory that could extend his rule to 20 years and vowed to deepen his self-styled socialist revolution that has polarized the South American OPEC nation. . . . More than 80 percent of registered voters cast ballots." "Venezuela's Chavez revels in re-election victory".

Darden works to undermine HCR, help Romney

"In an experiment apparently aimed at keeping down the cost of health-care reform, Orlando-based Darden Restaurants has stopped offering full-time schedules to many hourly workers in at least a few Olive Gardens, Red Lobsters and LongHorn Steakhouses." "Darden tests limiting worker hours as health-care changes loom".

Activist judges?

Nancy Smith: "The justices in the Florida Supreme Court now are about as close to politics as anybody in the legislative branch of state government. It is frustrating to listen to their bluster. Of course they are political. Of course they make decisions -- both conscious and unconscious ones -- based on political favoritism."

We have an election upon us. Are you happy with these justices for six more years? It's a personal decision. But you folks who don't like the leftward lean of the justices' decisions have every right to vote against retention in November. Just as the justices will have every right to continue activist rulings.

"SD 4 Money Chase"

"Nancy Soderberg Competitive in SD 4 Money Chase".

Unconstitutional for colleges to charge higher tuition to children of illegal immigrants

"State education officials are debating how to respond to a federal ruling that deemed it unconstitutional for Florida colleges and universities to charge higher tuition to the dependent children of illegal immigrants." "Florida will reply to ruling on tuition for immigrant children".

All they got?

" U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Palm Beach Gardens, drew shouts of “West! West! West!” and at least one suggestion he run for president when he showed up this afternoon for a Mitt Romney rally at Tradition Square. . . . Florida CFO Jeff Atwater and state Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, are among the elected officials on hand. Romney is expected to arrive and speak later this afternoon." "West, Atwater, Negron fire up crowd before Romney’s Treasure Coast appearance".

"Partisan dominance begets arrogance"

Randy Schultz: Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, who sponsored the election bill that was aimed at suppressing the Democratic vote, and Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, who next month will be president of the Florida Senate "spoke with straight faces in support of a bill that the courts correctly have shredded — the sort of bill that the court correctly would shred if Democrats tried it."

Choose your weapon: Restrictive photo ID requirements, decreased early voting hours, needlessly tough rules on registering voters and, in Florida’s case, purges of what allegedly are hordes of “non-citizens” on the voter rolls. Iowa, Colorado and New Mexico are presidential swing states. All passed tougher voter ID laws since 2010. Poor and minority voters, who usually vote Democratic, are less likely to have the new IDs. In Texas, a concealed weapons permit is a valid ID, but a student ID is not. . . .

Detecting partisan election laws is easy. Just ask if the sponsors can cite examples of the fraud they seek to prevent. Florida Republicans couldn’t do it in 2011. Gov. Scott couldn’t do it this year when he ordered Secretary of State Ken Detzner to purge the rolls of non-citizens. All the state’s elections supervisors pushed back, and the governor’s recent fund-raising letter on the issue proves that the “purge” was more about politics than electoral integrity.

And four months after a federal judge threw out the voter-registration restrictions in the 2011 law, the spreading registration controversy just before the 2012 election involves not a left-wing group but one working for the Republican Party of Florida. It’s the GOP here and now, but it could be the Democrats later. It happens when partisan dominance begets arrogance, and the desire to win overwhelms the desire to do good.

"Nearly 4 million Floridians are without health coverage"

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "The proposed Health Care Services charter amendment on the Nov. 6 ballot — Amendment 1 — is nothing more than a reminder that the Florida Legislature cares more about making political statements than about the health care needs of Floridians."

A better response would be for the Legislature to worry that Florida has the third-highest rate of residents who lack health insurance. Nearly 4 million Floridians, or 21 percent of the state, are without health coverage.

Despite that, Gov. Rick Scott has said the state will not set up health insurance exchanges, as required by the health care law for individuals to buy coverage with government subsidies, or expand its Medicaid program to provide insurance to those making up to 133 percent of the poverty level. The federal government will set up the exchanges if the state won’t.

Roughly 1 million gay, lesbian or bisexual voters in Florida

"The marriage issue raises special concerns for roughly 1 million gay, lesbian or bisexual voters in Florida — many clustered in South and Central Florida — and for countless religious conservatives. Evangelical voters amounted to an estimated 40 percent of Republicans who turned out for Florida's presidential primary this year. The political impact extends to like-minded voters on both sides, including supportive friends and family members."

"It closed that enthusiasm gap," Ron Mills, 58, of Fort Lauderdale, campaign director of the GLBT (gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender) Democratic Caucus, said of Obama's recent statements and actions. . . .

Mills estimates that Obama won as much as 75 percent of Florida's GLBT vote when he carried Florida in 2008, and he predicted that the president could get 80 percent to 85 percent of their vote this year.

A gay Republican leader, Andy Eddy, 65, of Deerfield Beach, has a somewhat different prediction. He estimates that Romney will get at least 30 percent of Florida's gay and lesbian vote, about the same as GOP candidate John McCain received in 2008. Many gay voters are appalled by Obama's record on the economy and will remain loyal to Republicans, said Eddy, a board member of the Log Cabin Republicans of Broward County.

Eddy added, however, that the fervent resistance to gay marriage by religious groups that back Romney may have blocked an opportunity for Republicans to gain support this year.

"It may very well steer votes away, especially in a county like Broward that is heavily Democratic," he said.

The issue is important for reasons that go well beyond the symbolism and customs of marriage.

"Marriage itself affords other benefits that most people take for granted: child-visitation rights, inheritance issues, immigration issues, the ability to sponsor one's spouse so they can become an American citizen, tax breaks," said Justin Flippen, former vice mayor of Wilton Manors and a gay Democratic activist. "With the economy being what it is, it's unfair to tax gay and lesbian couples more than married couples. Those are issues that hit home."

At the same time, Obama's support for same-sex marriage has spurred conservative activists to safeguard what they see as traditional values.

"It has created additional motivation and a sense of urgency," said John Stemberger, president of the Orlando-based Florida Family Policy Council, a well-connected advocacy group for traditional marriage. "Both the parties and the candidates, with some exceptions, couldn't be farther apart in their positions on these issues."

Though he has not formally endorsed Romney, Stemberger said he has organized the largest campaign effort in the group's history, mustering 25 staff members and thousands of volunteers to canvass neighborhoods and operate phone banks. The group has held 37 conferences with 1,600 pastors and hosted rallies in Pensacola and Miami. Another rally is planned for Orlando.

In an oblique reference to some conservative Christians' discomfort with Romney's past positions and Mormon religion, Stemberger said, "The issue is: Can we turn out people and have them vote their values?

The state’s former governor, Charlie Crist, had streamlined the process, making voting rights restoration automatic for non-violent felons. His successor, Rick Scott, reversed that. In Florida, an ex-felon is now required to wait up to seven years before even applying to have his or her voting rights returned.

“Welcome back, Jim Crow” said the headline on a Miami Herald editorial. Ain’t that the truth. Between policies like these, new restrictions on Sunday and early voting and, of course, Voter ID laws, the NAACP estimates that 23 million Americans stand to be disenfranchised — a disproportionate number of them African American.

We have seen these shenanigans before: grandfather clauses; poll taxes, literacy tests. Yet African Americans — heck, Americans in general — seem remarkably quiescent about seeing it all come around again, same old garbage in a different can.

“If you want to vote, show it,” trilled a TV commercial in support of Pennsylvania’s Voter ID law before a judge blocked its implementation. The tenor of the ad was telling, though, implicitly suggesting that voting is a privilege for which one should be happy to jump through arbitrary hoops.

We are indebted to the NAACP for bringing attention and leadership to this. Five years ago, a newspaper columnist — a guy named Pitts, actually — raked the organization for being “stagnant, static and marginal to today’s struggle.” But that was then. In fighting to restore the voting rights of ex-felons, in calling last year for an end to the failed “War on Drugs,” the NAACP has done more than energize itself.

It has also challenged us to recognize that the brutish goals of Jim Crow America never died, but simply reshaped themselves to the sensibilities of the 21st century, learned to hide themselves in the bloodless and opaque language of officially race-neutral policy. It would be a critical mistake not to understand this. Indeed, the advice of the late Teddy Pendergrass seems freshly apropos: Wake up, everybody. And realize:

Garbage is garbage, no matter how pristine the can.

Speaking of "garbage"

It is hard to believe that some folks actually "think" this way, including the Pastor Tea Partier who runs the silly "Restore Justice 2012": "Justices, Unions and the 'Appearance of Evil'". By the same "logic" all Republican appointees to the Florida Supreme Court should recuse themselves because the legislation requiring participants in the FRS to contribute 3 percent of their gross income into FRS was sponsored by and passed by members of the Florida Republican Party.

White suited men with butterfly nets

It's fair to say we won't be seeing visuals of Allen West being chased by white suited men carrying syringes filled with tranquilizers and giant butterfly nets, at least not from West: "Rep. Allen West projects softer tone in television campaign ads".

"$350 million boondoggle"

The Palm Beach Post editors: "Citizens plan looks like $350 million boondoggle".

"Republicans more interested in tapping into tea party angst than being responsible"

The Tampa Bay Times editorial board: "Two decades ago, capping future revenue in fast-growing states was all the rage, as voters concluded that governments flush with cash had grown fat and arrogant. But this is not the 1990s, and Florida's gov­ern­ment is not living large after five years of cutting services, shedding thousands of jobs and slashing education funding. A strict revenue cap proposed in a constitutional amendment on the Nov. 6 ballot won't solve any of the state's challenges and could create many more."

Voting for Amendment 3 would mean limiting the state's ambitions long-term even when the economy rebounds. It would bind the hands of future legislatures that might need to respond to a natural disaster, an offshore oil spill or some other calamity. Lawmakers would need to garner at least 60 percent of the votes in each chamber to breach the cap for a single year; and it would take a two-thirds vote to reset the cap for future years. Supporters contend that would be all but assured in a time of crisis. But that is a naive view of politics that would handcuff government at the moment that Floridians would need it most.

This amendment was put on the ballot because Senate President Mike Haridopolos of Merritt Island and other Republican leaders were more interested in tapping into tea party angst in a presidential election year than being responsible elected leaders. Haridopolos pushed the measure amid his bid for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. He later dropped out of the race, unable to withstand the scrutiny of a statewide race. Florida voters should heed the lesson from Colorado, where voters approved a similar cap in 1992 and suspended it three years later after it triggered cuts to services and increased the state's costs to borrow money.

"Democrats have added Medicare to the equation"

"For critical Senate races, Republicans are turning to the playbook that served them so well in the 2010 elections. They’re saturating the airwaves with political ads detailing the perils of 'Obamacare' and the nation’s growing debt. Democrats have added Medicare to the equation, trying to make the case that revamping the government health care program for older people would virtually destroy it." "Senate race ads focus on Medicare, Obamacare, debt".

The latest from the spats-and-ascot set

Kingsley Guy: "Beware Floridians, and residents of other states that have done a reasonable job of controlling public finances: Deadbeat states are on the prowl, and unless politicians from fiscally responsible states stand their ground, the ne-er-do-wells could end up soaking the rest of America for a fortune."

The deadbeat states tend to be dominated by liberal Democrats and their handlers in public employee unions. In exchange for union campaign contributions and support, the politicians over the decades have granted employees excessive remuneration to the point where the states now face insolvency. The worst offenders have been Illinois and California. . . .

Floridians should note that the Sunshine State has among the best credit ratings in the union. But making Floridians responsible for Illinois' debt would take away much of the impetus for Florida and other states to remain fiscally sound. . . .

Expect pubic employee unions in the deadbeat states to get behind bailout proposals so they can continue milking state treasuries. They will probably have the support of all of organized labor and, consequently, many Democrats in Congress.

Bailing out sovereign states, however, goes beyond the point of common sense, or even political expediency. Floridians should demand a pledge from all politicians seeking election this year to the U.S. House or Senate, and in particular incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson, that they won't support federal bailouts of states. The Florida Legislature, too, should go on record early in its next session insisting Washington steer clear of bailouts.

For the most part, Florida has been fiscally responsible over the years, regardless of which party was in power. A federal bailout of Illinois would be a slap in the face of every Floridian.

Worsening the state’s finances

The Palm Beach Post editorial board: "Florida voters will consider six proposed amendments to the state constitution that would worsen the state’s finances. Several would lower property taxes for certain groups. One would limit the state government’s ability to expand its budget. Voters should oppose all six." "Reject all revenue-limit and tax-break amendments".

"'Penny plan' could force deep cuts in Medicare, Social Security and defense spending"

"Republican U.S. Senate candidate Connie Mack’s signature 'penny plan' for balancing the federal budget could force deep cuts in Medicare, Social Security and defense spending, the independent Congressional Research Service reported this week." "Mack’s ‘penny plan’ for budget-balancing could cost plenty".

"Scott wants to privatize the state's Medicaid program"

"Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican-led Legislature want to privatize the state's Medicaid program, but need the Obama administration's permission. The Obama administration wants to make more low-income Floridians eligible for Medicaid, but needs Scott and the Legislature to agree." "Florida's Medicaid program in limbo".

"The hottest local race of the election season"

"The shocking news in January that Palm Beach County State Attorney Michael McAuliffe was leaving office early for the private sector not only threw the office of more than 300 prosecutors into uncertainty, it left the race for the job wide open."

Now, with the election less than a month away, the contest has evolved into a three-way battle that has become the hottest local race of the election season — with allegations of ethical misconduct against the Democratic front-runner, a last-minute Republican candidate whose campaign is gaining momentum and a longtime criminal defense attorney who by far has the most state court experience but is underfinanced.

Daily wingnuttery

You can's make this stuff up: see "Officials reject conspiracies on unemployment data" ("When conspiracists suggested Friday that the Obama administration had engineered a sharp drop in unemployment to aid President Barack Obama's re-election, the response was swift") and "Ark. GOP calls candidates' statements on slavery, Muslims 'offensive'" ("Arkansas Republicans tried to distance themselves Saturday from a Republican state representative's assertion that slavery was a 'blessing in disguise' and a Republican state House candidate who advocates deporting all Muslims. ")

Jon Stewart, Bill O'Reilly Debate

"Jon Stewart, Bill O'Reilly Debate: Light on Laughs, Heavy on Political Blah-Blah". Here's the video. Meanwhile, "'Saturday Night Live' rips Obama's debate performance".

The best they can do?

"In the congressional campaign between Democrat Lois Frankel and Republican Adam Hasner, PolitiFact Florida delved into claims about a Frankel campaign ad attacking Hasner over pay raises."

Frankel’s ad says Hasner said, “I’ll never accept a pay increase,” but he “voted to raise his pay four times.” We have several criticisms of this claim.

For starters, Frankel didn’t make it clear that Hasner said he would never accept a pay increase if elected to Congress. It’s possible to view the ad and falsely think he said that while accepting pay raises in the state House. There is a significant difference between saying that he would freeze his own congressional pay at around $174,000 and voting for overall budget bills that included measly pay raises in the state House that took his pay from $29,328 to $31,932 (and then back down again).

Also, Frankel omits that Hasner’s pay was frozen or cut for a few of his years in the House. And for one of those votes he did vote for a pay raise, but then House members said that was an accident, and they ultimately didn’t get a raise. Yes, Frankel says that he “voted” for the pay raises — not that he “received” them. Right away Hasner said that was a mistake and would be fixed, and it was.

There is a small kernel of truth here: Hasner did vote for three overall budgets that allowed himto get a small pay raise. We rate this claim Mostly False.

Meanwhile, "PolitiFact Florida checks out claims against Democrat Lois Frankel, who is running for Congress against Republican Adam Hasner. . . . The YG Action Fund launched an ad bashing Democratic congressional candidate Lois Frankel’s tenure as West Palm Beach mayor."

"YG (which stands for [try not to retch] Young Guns) is supporting Frankel’s Republican opponent Adam Hasner in the Broward/Palm Beach Congressional District 22 race. Their cartoonish ad shows a smiling headshot of Frankel and makes a series of claims about her tenure as mayor."

The YG Action PAC said that “Frankel took a 40 percent pay raise as mayor.” Frankel did form a committee to explore whether she should get a pay raise and that resulted in a 40 percent boost — an extra $35,750 — in 2004. However the ad omits the context for that raise: The mayor’s salary hadn’t increased since 1998 and after she got the raise in 2004, her salary then remained set at $125,000 a year until she left office in 2011.

The ad also stated that while Frankel got a hefty pay hike, the city “lost jobs.” The unemployment rate rose from about 5.8 percent to 10.2 percent during her tenure. But the number of employed actually increased slightly and Frankel can’t be blamed for a national recession.

For those omissions about context, we rate this claim Half True.