The majority of voters will have access to the maximum possible hours of 96, spread over eight straight 12-hour days. That's because supervisors of elections in all large counties chose that schedule, seeking to maximize turnout and reduce chances of long lines on Election Day and confusion from the change in early voting days.

The Legislature last year reduced the number of days from 14 to eight, ending on a Saturday, three days before the Nov. 6 election. The state had required 96 hours of early voting but the law was changed to allow at least 48 hours and a maximum of 96, while eliminating early voting on the last Sunday before Election Day.

Obama campaign appearance in Tampa on Thursday

"Tickets are still available for President Barack Obama's campaign appearance in Tampa on Thursday, campaign officials said today." "Tickets still available for Obama campaign appearance".

Grayson seeks to bury foe

"In Congress or on the campaign trail, it's often not enough for Alan Grayson to win. He has to win big. For proof, look no further than his campaign for Florida's 9th Congressional District." "Pugnacious Grayson seeks to bury little-known foe".

"Ingenious scheme hatched by Team Obama"

"Tom Jackson": "requests by Florida Democrats for mail-in ballots have surpassed 1 million for the first time. (Sunshine State Republicans routinely top 1 million, the report states.) It may have something to do with the ingenious scheme hatched by Team Obama, in which voters visit elections offices, request mail-in ballots and fill them in on the spot: early voting by other means." "Obsessively seeking clues from mail-in ballots".

Bondi says "no" to state employees

"Attorney General Pam Bondi is adamant that a $334 million mortgage settlement sitting in escrow since February will go to distressed Florida homeowners, not to state employees for pay raises. . . . State Rep. Michelle Rehwinkle Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee, had proposed Monday that some of the money go to state employee pay raises." "Pam Bondi: Mortgage Settlement Money Isn't for State Employee Pay Raises".

Whooppee!

"Scott to announce education package this week".

Never mind conservation

"Asked after the Cabinet meeting about whether the state should buy more [] land, [Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam] said the state needs to take better care of what it has now. 'I don't think you walk away from the program,' he said. 'But I don't think you maintain the program at the record highs it operated at several years ago.' . . . . Environmental groups have launched a petition drive to place a constitutional amendment on the 2014 ballot to increase spending on land." "Putnam urges closer scrutiny of state land management assignments, raises doubts about land-buying".

False Flag Operation?

"The Florida Division of Elections and state law enforcement officials are investigating reports from at least 24 counties — including Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas — that eligible voters have received bogus letters saying they have been flagged as suspected noncitizen voters."

The letters inform recipients they have 15 days to fill out a voter eligibility form and return it to the county elections office. If they don't, they'll be removed from the voter rolls, the letter warns.

Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, blames Gov. Rick Scott's push to purge noncitizens from the voter rolls.unlimited money in political races

"The state has created a lot of confusion about citizenship and eligibility," Simon said. "No one can be reasonably surprised that people have stepped in to take advantage of the confusion."

Guerra, who said he never misses a vote and contributed $100 to John McCain's 2008 presidential bid, recently re-registered to vote and called Pasco County's Supervisor of Elections Office on Tuesday after he got his letter. They put out an alert.

Rumor has it that these letters - sent to folks that would never miss the opportunity to vote (and certainly won't because of these bogus letters) - may be part of a larger False Flag operation: these letters, in tandem with the bogus fraud charges filed against the Florida Democratic Party, as well the Florida New Majority Education Fund and the National Council of La Raza/Democracia USA. "Voter fraud complaint filed against Fla. Democrats", would support GOP claims that the Dems are trying to "steal" the election in Florida. A rallying cry for Fla-baggers to flock to the polls and harass voters.

Voucher madness

"Rick Scott to Propose More School Choice, No Funding Cuts".

"Jewish voters will stick with Obama"

"Former South Florida Democratic Congressman Robert Wexler of Boca Raton, now president of the Washington-based S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace, disputes GOP claims that many Jews who voted for President Obama will not vote him this time due to rocky relations with Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other missteps."

But Wexler, who attended the third and last presidential debate Monday night at Lynn University, also claimed that exit poll numbers cited by the media after the 2008 election inflated Obama’s success with Florida Jews. The exit polls said Obama won 78 percent of that vote, while Wexler said he thought it was “more like 73 to 74 percent.”

“I think he’ll do low 70s again this time,” Wexler said.

In other words, Obama will not have to win as many Jewish votes in the state as some people think he will need in order to match his 2008 performance.

Sink in the mix

"Alex Sink speaks at PB Business Group’s season-opening breakfast".

"Florida Debt to Decline Again"

"Florida will report in December that it has significantly reduced its outstanding debt for the second year in a row, and that continued refinancing of outstanding debt will save more than $1 billion on future interest payments, the state's top bond finance official said Tuesday. A second year of lower debt appears to portend a reversal of a long trend. Two years of reductions follow about a decade of increasing debt loads and represent the first year-over-year drops in 20 years." "Florida Debt to Decline Again This Year, Trend Now Going Down".

"Two trial attorneys are vying for the Senate District 14 seat in Central Florida that snakes from eastern Orlando south through Kissimmee and into Haines City."

The district was drawn as a Hispanic access district during the redistricting process, and both Rep. Darren Soto, D-Orlando, and Republican William McBride are playing up their Latin roots in an appeal to voters.

Mack demands UN be "kicked off of American soil"

In a sign of growing desperation, "U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV, who's running for the U.S. Senate, said the United Nations 'should be kicked off of American soil.'" "Mack calls for defunding the United Nations". Meanwhile, "Sen. Bill Nelson stumps for votes on Rep. Connie Mack’s turf".

Florida Columnist worries about "Soviet-Style Assassins"

Nancy Smith actually penned this yesterday: "Obama's Latest Brilliant Idea: Soviet-Style Assassins to Supervise November Elections".

"Obama stays in Florida"

Zac Anderson: "President Barack Obama stayed in Florida for his first post-debate campaign appearance Tuesday, continuing his aggressive critique of Republican challenger Mitt Romney from the night before and repeating his assertion that Romney is 'all over the map' on foreign policy and many other issues." "Obama stays in Florida and attacks Romney".

"Unpleasant details"

The Sarasota Herald Tribune editorial board: "When election laws stretch over 172 pages -- as Florida's do -- unpleasant details are bound to lurk in the fine print. One such example comes courtesy of statute 101.68:"

"After an absentee ballot is received by the supervisor, the ballot is deemed to have been cast, and changes or additions may not be made to the voter's certificate."

That little-mentioned restriction has become important to more than 100 Sarasota County citizens who failed to sign their absentee ballot certificates before turning them in.

Under Florida law, the lack of a signature invalidates those ballots, as the Herald-Tribune's Tom Lyons explained in a recent column. If the error is caught before the ballot is handed in, it can be corrected. But under 101.68, no remedy exists once the supervisor of elections office receives the ballot. Thus, there is no point in notifying those unfortunate voters until after Election Day.

Legislator considering party switch

"Just days after a trial court judge dismissed his suit challenging his razor-thin August primary election defeat, sources close to Democratic Rep. John Patrick Julien tell Sunshine State News the legislator is 'considering a party switch.'" "Democratic Rep. John Patrick Julien Defends School Choice, Pro-Life; 'Considers Party Switch'".

Partisan disconnect

In Orange County Democrats "outnumber Republicans 43 percent to 30 percent in voter registration. Yet Democrats are outnumbered 6-1 on the county's non-partisan elected board, where GOP Mayor Teresa Jacobs and five Republicans control the agenda."

Former Mayor Linda Chapin, a Democrat who was part of the 1992 push to make county elections nonpartisan, said that she still believes that's the ideal choice.

"But here's what has changed," said Chapin, who won't oppose a move back. "With the new element of unlimited money in political races, I can't expect my Democratic colleagues to give up any advantage they have in real voters."

No Cuba

Fabiola Santiago points out that "not even as a follow-up to the historical reference of the anniversary made by moderator Bob Schieffer did U.S. policies toward the Cuban dictatorship get a mention Monday night."

It was a surprising omission given the subject’s role in other presidential elections and the unprecedented longevity in the hemisphere of a repressive regime only 90 miles from Florida, where the debate took place.

And Cuba wasn’t the only snub. All of the Caribbean and Latin America were neglected despite the economic relevance of a region that represents millions of trade jobs to Americans.

Not enough red tape

"A St. Petersburg man is dead and a co-worker was badly hurt after a load of steel pipes fell on them onboard a ship in the Port of Tampa Tuesday afternoon. . . . crews were moving the pipes in 1-ton bundles at the time." "St. Pete man dead after pipes fall on ship at Port of Tampa".

The state hosted the Republican National Convention and Monday’s presidential debate will take place in Boca Raton. And each week since early August, it has been visited by at least one of the presidential campaigns.

Strategically, however, there is a subtle shift in the campaigns’ approach to Florida down the homestretch that may preclude a repeat of 2008, when Barack Obama and John McCain came to Sarasota in the final weeks before Election Day.

While Obama and GOP challenger Mitt Romney certainly want to win Florida, the state is far more critical to Romney than to Obama.

"Sorry, Florida. Barack Obama and Mitt Romney may be ardently courting America's biggest battleground state, but their real passion is for Ohio. Because as un-American as it sounds, all votes are not created equal in a presidential election. Don't be offended. With barely two weeks before Nov. 6, it's all about the electoral math. And as uncertain and unpredictable as the campaign looks heading into the final stretch, Ohio remains President Obama's best opportunity to block a Romney win — and Romney's biggest hurdle."

That's why in the past week, four of the top 10 TV markets for campaign ads were in Ohio, and only one was in Florida (Orlando), according to NBC. That's why, since September, Romney and Paul Ryan have done 34 Ohio campaign events and 20 Florida events, while Obama and Joe Biden have done 11 campaign events in Florida and 18 in Ohio.

"If you take Ohio off the board for the Romney campaign they basically have to win seven of the remaining eight battleground states," said Robert Gibbs, a senior Obama campaign adviser.

"If a fourth-grade teacher was moderating"

Carl Hiaasen explains how it would go down "If a fourth-grade teacher was moderating the final presidential debate". "Teacher would show ’em how to run a debate".

Are these editorials even worth the paper they're written on?

This was no surprise last week from the Orlando Sentinel: "Our pick for president: Romney".

Editorials from the Orlando Sentinel, especially as they relate to political issues, need to be taken with one big right-wing grain of salt.

It is no secret that Sam Zell, the "easily provoked" Republican, and Chicago based slum lord who controls the Tribune Company (which owns the Orlando Sentinel and SoFla's Sun Sentinel), uses his newspapers as his personal soap box.

And Zell's putative employees employees know full well who butters their bread ("Sam Zell Says ‘Fuck You’ To His [Orlando Sentinel] Journalist"). See generally "Sam Zell Goes On Legendary Tirade About Class Warfare" and "Sam Zell, Asshole, Leaving Tribune, After Destroying It".

The poor "journalists" and "editors" working for Zell may be jumping from the frying pan into the fire, as legendary wingnut Rupert Murdoch may end up as their next owner.

In another relatively early endorsement, The Saint Petersburg Times editors believe "Obama has earned second term", but their evil twins on The Tampa Tribune editorial board predictably think otherwise: "Mitt Romney for president".

"The McGillicuddy three-wheeler political machine"

Daniel Ruth: "In an evening filled with out-of-body, parallel universe political piffle, perhaps nothing summed up the sheer Baghdad Bob denial of reality more than Republican U.S. Senate candidate Connie Mack wishing he could have more debates with incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson."

Go ahead and slap your forehead. Everyone else already has.

After all, Mack, R-The Invisible Man, has been ducking debates, first with his Republican primary opponents and now Nelson, as if he were being chased around by a process server.

Really now. Mack has been so wary of finding himself in the same area code with any opponents and defending his thin record he probably refuses to tell waiters what he wants to order for fear of taking a position on whole wheat or rye.

How much of a black hole meets a vow of omerta has been Mack? Right about now the McGillicuddy three-wheeler political machine makes former Sen. George LeMieux, who never met a back he didn't want to stab, look like Henry Clay.

To be fair, you have to have a certain empathy for Mack, R-Who Am I and Why Am I Here?, whose witness protection attendance record at debates is only rivaled by his attendance record at his day job as a U.S. congressman.

When your entire raison d'etre for claiming to be qualified to sit in the U.S. Senate is grounded in DNA and the family tree, it's awkward to run around the state holding up a poster of your double helix as a campaign prop.

A coordinated campaign by tea party groups and state GOP to open up three judicial seats for tea party Gov. Scott

Myriam Marquez: "The Bill of Rights was created to counter what our Founding Fathers called the 'tyranny of the majority.' But in Florida, there’s the tyranny of the minority, too, scorching a pants-on-fire path to the Supreme Court, trying to make a cockamamie case that three justices are unfit to be retained by voters. Pumped up by its control of the governor’s office, the cabinet and the state Legislature, the Republican Party of Florida now is going after the three state justices who are up for retention by voters on Nov. 6: R. Fred Lewis, Barbara Pariente and Peggy Quince."

Predictably, Florida’s GOP chief, Lenny Curry, calls the criticism “nonsense. The charge of injecting politics into what is already an issue before the voters is nonsense of the highest order.”

Curry points to the justices raising $1 million in their defense, which is diabolically funny since the only reason groups defending the justices have been forced to raise the big bucks is to battle a coordinated campaign by tea party groups and now the state GOP to oust them and open up three judicial seats for tea party Gov. Rick Scott.

Rich in irony, considering that Scott won without capturing the majority of the vote, but simply a plurality.

The spats and ascot crowd

Kingsley Guy: "Trickle down economics really work".

"How bad is Florida's political corruption?"

The Sarasota Herald Tribune editorial board asks: "How bad is Florida's political corruption? So bad that Louisiana is being held up by comparison as an example of good government." "Florida's sad state of ethics".

"Every vote doesn't count"

Tom Lyons reminds us that some folks ignore the absentee ballot envelope that has a red arrow "pointing to a spot for a signature. Instructions say 'Voter must sign & date." If the absentee ballot voters don't do that, it will not be opened and counted.

That mistake used to be fixable. But now, though the election is more than two weeks away, there is no lawful way to fix the error, thanks to a law passed several years ago. Since 2004, it has been illegal to correct the mistake by coming in to sign, nor can voters have the ballot thrown away so they can vote at a polling place.

Teabagger-GOPers outraged

"Court halts execution of John Ferguson".

"Impact of Florida on national politics"

"The 'Today' show with Lester Holt, is broadcasting today from Plant Hall's East Verandah University at the Tampa campus in a special show on the impact of Florida on national politics. One of Holt's first interviews was former Gov. Charlie Crist, who switched parties and is supporting President Barack Obama in his re-election bid, praised what Obama had been able to accomplish despite the situation he inherited, and how the president was able to help Floridians." "NBC's 'Today' talks with Crist about Florida politics".

Obama hater sends more than a million conspiracy-laden DVDs to swing state voters

"A conservative, California-based filmmaker said this week that his company is distributing more than a million free copies of a conspiracy-laden DVD that claims much of what the public knows about President Barack Obama's early life is false. The movie — called 'Dreams From My Real Father' — began appearing in Central Florida mailboxes sometime last week."

It is the work of Joel Gilbert, a director whose other movies have focused on everything from militant Islam to Bob Dylan to Elvis Presley. He said the DVD is being sent to swing states, including Florida and Ohio, but would not say who is financing the project or how much the distribution costs.

Gilbert's central — and widely denounced — claim is that Obama's father was not a Kenyan named Barack Obama but a black poet and journalist named Frank Marshall Davis. Marshall was a labor activist investigated in the 1940s and 1950s for ties to the American Communist Party.

Gilbert contends Davis and Ann Dunham — the president's mother — had a secret relationship when they were living in Hawaii, and that Dunham's family covered it up when she became pregnant.

Ultimately, Gilbert alleges, Obama discovered who his "true" father was. The men developed a relationship, Gilbert said, and the president's "biological father" became his "ideological father."

"One and Done?"

Nancy Smith wonders, "Is David Rivera 'One and Done?'".

Smith won't run for governor

"Scratch one name off the list of potential Democratic candidates for governor in 2014: Florida Democratic Party chairman Rod Smith."

Other prospective Democratic challengers to Gov. Rick Scott include Alex Sink; state Sen. Nan Rich, D-Weston; Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer; and former Miami-Dade County Commissioner Jimmy Morales.

And there's the chance former Gov. Charlie Crist will run as a Democrat.

Absentee ballot signatures

"Court rules for Clemens; Bernard concedes in state Senate District 27 race". Background: "The legal dispute basically boils down to how [circuit court judge Terry] Lewis should have construed section 102.168(8) of the Florida statutes. The law states that when the 'legality' of an absentee ballot is in dispute because of a perceived discrepancy between signatures, a circuit court judge may not consider any other evidence beyond visual comparison of the two signatures."

Bernard’s lawyer, former Republican state Rep. J.C. Planas, insists that this statute, enacted by the Legislature in 2011, was only meant to apply to those cases where a ballot is challenged after its validity has been accepted by elections officials; in those cases where a ballot has not been accepted, but a party is arguing it should be, Planas says the judge is allowed to consider other evidence.

Bernard’s legal pleadings cite, in support of this position, the text of an amendment rejected by the 2011 Legislature. The rejected amendment explicitly applied the more restrictive standard of judicial ballot review to absentee ballots rejected by elections officials. Planas says this rejection signaled the intent of the Legislature to make it easier for votes to be counted, and more difficult for them to be rejected.

Lewis rejected that argument, declaring that the same standard of review had to be applied to any ballot whose signatures did not match. Lewis declined to count the contested absentee ballots in Bernard's favor, after finding that a "reasonable person" could find that the signatures on these ballots did not match those on file with the elections office.

The judges Thursday seemed likely to uphold that ruling.

Ann Romney in Orlando

"Ann Romney to walk in breast cancer 5K in Orlando". Meanwhile, "Romney in Daytona: We have 'big ideas'". See also "Politics kicks into high gear as Romney, Ryan visit Biketoberfest in Daytona".

Webster and Demings spar

"U.S. Rep. Dan Webster and former police chief Val Demings sparred over negative campaign ads Friday at their first and only debate in the battle for Florida's 10th Congressional District." "Dan Webster, Val Demings spar over attack ads, jobs".

Funny how that works

"Eleven constitutional amendments appearing on the Nov. 6 ballot were all placed there by the Florida Legislature. But legislative watchdogs say another lesser-known group may have had a significant role in getting them before voters, too — a quiet, corporate-backed nonprofit that creates conservative and business-friendly model legislation for state lawmakers. Critics suggest several of the high-profile amendments Floridians will consider may have come directly from the American Legislative Exchange Council, or at least from its playbook." "Some amendments tied to business-backed group".

"How about a nice ambassadorship in Barbados?"

"The Barack Obama campaign last week released an updated list of its top campaign donation bundlers. Among them? Former Republican Gov. Crist, who raised between $100,000 and $200,000 for the president's re-election campaign. . . . Maybe a governor's race isn't the next step for Crist, still registered independent. How about a nice ambassadorship in Barbados?" "A new spot for Crist?"

Biden on International Drive

"Vice President Joe Biden and his daughter, Ashley, made a campaign stop Friday at a Dairy Queen on International Drive in Orlando, where he treated a customer to ice cream and chatted with an 8-year-old girl." "VP Biden's campaign takes an ice-cream break at Orlando Dairy Queen".

"Ku Klux Klan met its match"

"Ku Klux Klan met its match in Putnam County in the 1920s".

"Campaign theft is sign of the times"

Fabiola Santiago: "Campaign theft is sign of the times".

"West Fights for His Political Life"

"In one of the most heated congressional races in a state filled with contentious contests, with millions spent on airing negative ads that voters say won’t sway their view, the battle between conservative firebrand Rep. Allen West, R-Palm Beach Gardens, and Democratic upstart Patrick Murphy remains tight." "In the Middle of a Tick-Tight Race ... Allen West Fights for His Political Life". See also "Allen West, Patrick Murphy spar over taxes, health care in televised debate".

Deutch walks

"Deutch has no Republican opponent November 6. Two independents, Cesar Henao of Greenacres and Mike Trout of West Boca Raton, are challenging him, but Deutch is expected to win easily in the heavily Democratic district." "ELECTION 2012: CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 21".

"Did Justices Up for Retention Invent New Workers' Compensation Law Out of Thin Air?"

Sunshine State News: "Did Justices Up for Retention Invent New Workers' Compensation Law Out of Thin Air?".

"Conservative Florida Senate needs more experienced, reasonable voices"

The Tampa Bay Times editorial board: "Conservative Florida Senate needs more experienced, reasonable voices who focus more on Florida’s long-term needs than short-term political gains." "Independent voices for Florida Senate".