Election advisory board changes recommendations

Committee formed by Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez

MIAMI – A committee formed by Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez to explore election reform fine tuned some of its recommendations during a meeting Friday.

Of the 13 recommendations in its report, seven affect state law. Of those seven, five were already approved by Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners at its Dec. 18 meeting. Those five are below.

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  • Expansion of Permissible Early Voting Sites – recommends the expansion of allowable facilities eligible for use as early voting sites.
  • Early Voting Days – recommends extending the availability of early voting from eight (8) to nine (9) days, so as to include the last Sunday before Election Day.
  • Referendum Proposed by Legislature Regarding Ballot Language – recommends limiting the ballot language for constitutional amendments to a maximum of 15 words for title and 75 words for ballot summary.
  • Ballot Canvassing - recommends extending the number of days that Supervisors of Elections are permitted to canvass ballots, from 15 days to 20 days.
  • Discontinue "Absentee Ballot" Term – recommends discontinuing the term "Absentee Ballot" and replacing it with "Vote by Mail."
  • At Friday's meeting, two new recommendations and one amended recommendation (see below) need to be voted on by the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners in an upcoming meeting to be included into the County's amended annual legislative package.

  • Change early voting from 8 to 14 days (Amended)
  • Change residency requirement to work at voting precincts. Currently, you have to be registered voter in Miami-Dade County to work at a precinct. The recommendation is you only have to be a registered voter in the State of Florida. (New)
  • Allow absentee ballot drop on Election Day at your precinct.  Currently, you can only drop off absentee ballots at Election Headquarters. (New)