Action Center

Action Alert

LWVF: ACTION ALERT!
ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!

SB956 is scheduled to be heard on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday, April 29, 2009.

If this bill passes:

• All members of the League, who actively register voters, will have to register with the Secretary of State. SB956 requires that all voter registration forms must be returned to the Supervisor's office within 48 hours. Not meeting the deadline will result in a fine of $250 per violation and a misdemeanor charge.
  
  
• Bill will eliminate voters' ability to fill out a change of address and vote a regular ballot on Election Day.
  
  
• Bill will further limit the types of acceptable IDs. Senior citizens will no longer be able to use retirement center ids or neighborhood association ids.
  
  
• The Governor will not be able to extend early voting hours unless there is an emergency.
  
  
• Political committees formed in other states will be able to operate in Florida without registering or meeting reporting requirements of state organizations
  
  
• If a paid petition gatherer violates the law, all petitions he/she has had signed will be invalidated.
  
  
• Signed petitions will be valid for two years instead of the four years.
  
  
• Legal assistance or any other type of advice will not be allowed within 100 feet of the end of the voting line at the polls.
  
  

All League members should contact their Senators and tell them to oppose this bill. They have not passed a budget and should be concentrating on that instead of a bill like SB 956. This bill is a solution looking for a problem; the 2008 election in Florida was excellent. SB956 would create problems, not solve them.


To contact your Senator:

Click the link here, and scroll down and enter either your full address or nine digit zipcode. Click "Go". You will then see a box titled "My Elected Officials", and within that box the name of your state Senator. Once you have clicked his/her name, you will be taken to a page with their picture on it. Above their picture, find the tab labeled "Contact", and you will see their contact information

***URGENT*** CALL/EMAIL TO OPPOSE SB956, A MONSTER OF A BILL

Committee to Vote this Afternoon!

SAY NO TO SB 956

IF YOU HAVE TIME, PLEASE *CALL* RIGHT NOW, AND THEN EMAIL

Senator J.D. Alexander (Dist 17); (850) 487-5044
Senator Carey Baker (Dist 20); (850) 487-5014
Senator Alex Diaz de la Portilla (Dist 36); (850) 487-5109
Senator Mike Fasano (Dist 11); (850) 487-5062
Senator Andy Gardiner (Dist 9); (850) 487-5047
Senator Arthenia L. Joyner (Dist 18); (850) 487-5059
Senator Charlie Justice (Dist 16); (850) 487-5075
Senator Nan H. Rich (Dist 34); (850) 487-5103
Senator Garrett Richter (Dist 37); (850) 487-5124

Cut and paste the following into the body of an email:

I urge you to vote NO this afternoon on Senator Diaz de la Portilla's strike-all committee amendment that makes SB 956 the most anti-voter bill we have seen thus far. The new language is worse than the original, and much more is at stake. This bill threatens to undo all the gains made in voter registration and voter turn-out during the 2008 election!

• Places more unnecessary burdens on third party voter registration efforts
• Further limits registration processes, and voters from exercising their right to vote;
• Will increase the number of provisional ballots;
• Cuts back citizen's ability to gather petitions

Email your letter to these addresses (cut and paste and reach them all at once):

alexander.jd.web@flsenate.gov, baker.carey.web@flsenate.gov, portilla.alex.web@flsenate.gov, fasano.mike.web@flsenate.gov, gardiner.andy.web@flsenate.gov, joyner.arthenia.web@flsenate.gov, justice.charlie.web@flsenate.gov, richter.garrett.web@flsenate.gov, rich.nan.web@flsenate.gov