Politics

Campaign finance reports are finding a lot of Claudio Osorio's money in reports filed by prominent South Florida Democrats including Broward U. S. Rep. Debbie Wassermann Schultz, the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee.

On his listening tour in counties where voting  was a problem last month, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner got three suggestions in Miami on Tuesday.

Detzner, who's also the state's chief election officer, was told there were too few early voting days, not enough early voting sites and way too many words on the ballot.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and his appointed elections supervisor, Penelope Townsley, said that was the formula for long lines and seven-hour waits to deal with 10- and 12-page ballots on Nov. 6.

There have already been a number of bills filed by Democratic state lawmakers to change parts of Florida's controversial voting law during the upcoming  Legislative session, which starts March 5.

Most of the bills, so far, focus on early voting rules that were changed in 2011 -- when the Republican-controlled  Legislature overhauled the state's voting law.

Yes, the 2014 gubernatorial election is months and months away, but there are already some signs that election season has started right back up again.

Former Governor and brand-new Democrat Charlie Crist explained his qualms and misgivings with the Republican Party last night in an interview with Chris Matthews on MSNBC's "Hardball" program.

Crist said his disenchantment grew as he assessed the Republican leadership views of immigration, education and voter suppression.

"As a live-and-let-live kind of guy who wants to be tolerant, who wants to be kind, who wants to be compassionate," Crist explained, "the leadership doesn't seem to embrace that kind of view."

In Florida, it's safe to say that voting in the presidential election this year was a disaster.

As we all know, voting lines during early voting and through to Election Day were several hours long. In fact, while President Obama was giving his victory speech, some polls were still open in Miami-Dade because there were people still waiting in line to vote.

It's official, folks. Former Republican Florida Governor Charlie Crist is now a Democrat.

From The News Service of Florida

On the Florida Roundup :  Local leaders and scientists gather in Palm Beach county to discuss how sea-level rise is “sinking in” in South Florida.  Citizens Insurance is awash with complaints about its "incentive plan" to have private insurers take over some of its policies. Will you be paying for it, hurricane or not? 

With new leadership running the Florida Legislature and gambling regulation prominently on the table, the Genting Group has abandoned its plan to seek voter approval of a casino gambling amendment.

Genting, the Malaysian gambling behemoth which bought the Miami Herald headquarters with a plan to create a fantastical seaside casino, now says it will slow down and work with -- instead of around -- the Legislature.

A prominent Senate Democrat is trying to federalize election rules in a way that would make it illegal to force voters to wait more than an hour to vote.

U. S. Sen. Barbara Boxer filed her bill -- called the LINE Act -- on Thursday. If it passes, states would have to come into compliance before the next federal election. That would involve applying formulas that determine how many voting machines and poll workers have to be available for the expected number of voters.