Long voting lines spark top election official's recommendations

The long lines at Florida polling stations on November 6 have led the state's top election official to recommend expanded early voting and shorter ballots.

The suggestions, issued Monday by Secretary of State Ken Detzner, come after harsh criticism of Florida's voting system, which was the subject of national attention even before long lines and reporting delays came to light after Election Day.

While Detzner's report indicated the 2012 general election "was a fair election as a whole," the process "should be improved upon."

"The area for improvement most commonly mentioned was the length of lines at polling places, which were believed to have been caused by the record number of voters, a shortened early voting schedule, inadequate voting locations and a long ballot," the report read.

Early voting should take place for a maximum of 14 days, Detzner recommended, and should occur on the Sunday before Election Day - a voting day that is popular with black voters. He also said voting locations should be expanded to include city halls, courthouses and public libraries.

Ballots were also too long in November, Detzner said, advising there should be a word count on legislative amendments put up for a vote.

Florida made headlines on Election Day after some waited in voting lines for hours at a time, even after the president had been declared the winner. The battleground state was also the last undecided state in the presidential contest. CNN projected that Obama won Florida on the Saturday following the Tuesday election.

Some criticized Republican Gov. Rick Scott for not extending the number of days for early voting, but Scott said he was simply going with what the law stated. In 2011, Florida's Republican-controlled legislature reduced the number of early voting days from 14 to 8, and eliminated voting on the Sunday preceding Election Day.

Scott also came under fire in June for a push to remove non-eligible names from Florida's voter rolls months before the presidential election. Using information from Florida's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the state identified more than 100,000 names of non-eligible voters that could potentially be on the lists illegally.

Critics say the plan unfairly targeted minorities, and paint it as an attempt to dissuade typically Democratic voters from going to the polls.

Scott, however, contended at the time that the move was necessary to remove the names of non-citizens from the lists, and polls showed that a majority of Florida voters approved of the measure.

On Monday, Scott said he would work with the state legislature to make Detzner's recommendations into law.

"Following the November election, many Floridians were frustrated with the inefficiencies, confusion, and delays they found at some voting locations," Scott said in a statement. "Most counties did not experience any significant difficulties or delays. These recommendations by the Secretary of State are important reforms that can be done at the statewide level. "