Bloggytown

Federal judge gives Florida voters until Saturday to fix ballots rejected for mismatched signatures

by Dara Kam, News Service of Florida on November 15, 2018 at 9:40AM

Siding with U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson’s campaign and national Democrats, a federal judge early Thursday gave voters until 5 p.m. Saturday to fix ballots that were rejected because of mismatched signatures.

Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz and Democratic ally back medical marijuana bills for veterans

by Colin A. Young, News Service of Florida on November 14, 2018 at 5:07PM

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz and a Massachusetts Democrat on Wednesday introduced a package of legislation to change the Department of Veterans Affairs' medical marijuana practices in an attempt to make cannabis a more realistic treatment option for veterans. Gaetz, a Northwest Florida Republican, joined with U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., to prepare three bills that seek to learn more about how veterans use cannabis, to prepare better medical-marijuana education for providers and to protect the benefits of veterans who use marijuana.

Gillum calls out Trump, Scott for undermining democracy in Florida recount

by Monivette Cordeiro on November 14, 2018 at 5:00PM

Stay on top of Orlando news and views. Sign up for our weekly Headlines newsletter.

Marco Rubio, the knowledgeable football man

by Colin Wolf on November 14, 2018 at 3:03PM

Of course, Rubio has since defended this tweet by arguing not everyone who's into politics knows about field goals. "I am being roasted for ‘3 pt kick’ tweet about election?

Rick Scott will recuse himself from certifying the recount results in the Florida Senate race

by Xander Peters on November 14, 2018 at 12:31PM

On Wednesday, Gov. Rick Scott's lawyer told U.S. District Judge Mark Walker that the term-limited governor will recuse himself from the Elections Canvassing Commission next week, following days of speculation. Had he not recused himself, Scott, a Republican, would have had the chance to certify (or not certify) the results of his U.S. Senate race against Democratic incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson, which advanced to an automatic machine recount after meeting the 0.5 percent or less margin late last week.

Florida Department of Law Enforcement 'deeply troubled' by Pam Bondi's assertions over voter fraud

by Jim Turner, the News Service of Florida on November 14, 2018 at 11:02AM

The commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said he is “deeply troubled” that Attorney General Pam Bondi thought he would not pursue investigations into potential criminal activity related to last week’s elections. In a letter Monday to Bondi, Commissioner Rick Swearingen wrote that his office was working with the secretary of state and local, state and federal agencies to vet complaints and that a “preliminary inquiry” had already been initiated before Bondi ripped him on Sunday for failing to pursue undefined allegations of election “fraud.”

Bill Nelson's campaign turns to federal court in Florida recount fight

by Dara Kam, News Service of Florida on November 14, 2018 at 11:01AM

Ballots postmarked before the polls closed at 7 p.m. on Election Day should be counted. Ballots with mismatched signatures should be counted.

Leon County circuit court judge backs suspending Florida recount deadlines

by The News Service of Florida on November 14, 2018 at 11:01AM

A Leon County circuit judge Tuesday ordered the suspension of recount deadlines in the races for governor, agriculture commissioner and a state House seat to give Palm Beach County elections officials time to finish recounting ballots. But attorneys for Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner filed a notice Tuesday that they were taking the dispute to federal court, pointing to federal constitutional issues that are involved.

Orlando Sentinel goes through major leadership shake-up

by Monivette Cordeiro on November 13, 2018 at 6:45PM

portrayed the Sentinel as an organization that ignored minorities and gay people, both in the context of the Pulse tragedy and in general; a place where minorities needed to fear speaking out about the issue of a lack of diversity," Khahaifa said. "It did so by taking a handful of discrete points and perspectives and casting them as a full picture, one that is distorted and inaccurate.

Early recount totals show little change in Florida races for governor, Senate

by Jim Turner, the News Service of Florida on November 13, 2018 at 4:55PM

Recounts wrapping up in small and mid-sized counties are showing few changes to initial results in the races for governor, U.S. Senate and agriculture commissioner. But bigger counties still have until Thursday afternoon to complete the state-mandated recount process.

Only three recounts have resulted differently in influential races since 2000

by Xander Peters on November 13, 2018 at 12:49PM

Recounts are underway in Florida of votes in the races for U.S. Senate, governor and state agriculture commissioner, as if you weren't aware. The ballot reporting deadline was Saturday.

How we got here, and how all this Florida recount mess is going down

by Joey Roulette on November 13, 2018 at 12:05PM

How we all got here In a poll-defying comeback of 2016 Trumpism, Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum conceded defeat on election night as votes hovered around a 1 percent lead for the Trump-endorsed Republican nominee Ron DeSantis.

Donald Trump Jr. spreads conspiracy theory about Florida voter fraud that debunks itself

by Monivette Cordeiro on November 13, 2018 at 11:38AM

Trump Jr. apparently did not click through on the link he shared, though, because an editor's note at the top of the article quashes the 2012 claim made by Florida election officials that about 182,000 ineligible people registered to vote. "The initial list of 180,000 names was whittled to 2,625, according to the Florida Department of State," the Nov. 12 note says.

Voting groups sue to stop Rick Scott from influencing Florida recount

by The News Service of Florida on November 13, 2018 at 10:50AM

The League of Women Voters of Florida and Common Cause Florida filed a federal lawsuit Monday seeking to prevent Gov. Rick Scott from using his official powers to influence ballot counting or the certification of results of his hotly contested race for U.S. Senate. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. district court in Tallahassee, came amid a recount in Scott’s race with Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson —- and amid a torrent of litigation about ballot counting.

Bay County supervisor of elections allowed roughly 150 'displaced' Florida voters to send ballots by email

by Xander Peters on November 12, 2018 at 4:44PM

” that would still linger weeks after the storm. “That’s why the decision was made to move in that direction,” he said.

Thanksgiving traffic in Orlando is going to be insanely horrible this year

by Paola Peralta on November 12, 2018 at 3:10PM

If you're planning to travel at all this Thanksgiving, you can bet your ass there will be overcrowded airports and highways in the Sunshine State. The auto club AAA projects that around 54.3 million Americans will be traveling this year for the holiday, with 2.8 million Floridians adding to that number.

Without citing evidence, Donald Trump and Rick Scott keep claiming there's voter fraud in Florida

by Xander Peters on November 12, 2018 at 2:26PM

So how'd we get to a point where one side is claiming "fraud" and the other is calling for a fair democratic process? Easy – this is how modern elections, with all their apparent flaws, work.

Florida Constitution Revision Commission says it's 'vindicated' by voters' approval of amendments

by Lloyd Dunkelberger, News Service of Florida on November 12, 2018 at 11:35AM

Lost in the continuing drama about Tuesday's elections, the Florida Constitution Revision Commission set a new milestone. The commission, which meets every 20 years and has the unique ability to place proposed constitutional changes directly before voters, saw the passage of seven amendments it put on the ballot.

Election recount is 'deja vu' with added fuel for most Floridians

by Dara Kam, News Service of Florida on November 12, 2018 at 11:34AM

Democrats are holding rallies, demanding that every vote be counted. Republicans are raising the specter of fraud, accusing Democrats of attempting to “steal” elections.

Pam Bondi rips Florida Department of Law Enforcement over elections investigation

by Jim Saunders, News Service of Florida on November 12, 2018 at 7:35AM

In an unusual move, Attorney General Pam Bondi on Sunday publicly criticized Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Rick Swearingen for not pursuing an investigation into alleged irregularities in the handling of election ballots in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Bondi’s office released a two-page letter rooted, at least in part, in Gov. Rick Scott’s controversial statement Thursday night that he was asking the FDLE to investigate irregularities.

Orlando Weekly

Blogs

» topic: Bloggytown