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.
Recommended Videos
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)
Copyright 2013 by Local10.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.