Election Law Center has learned that 1,100 Florida voters will not be able to participate in today’s state primary because of snafus by the government.  300 absentee voters in Martin County (FL) and 800 in Indian River County (FL) did not receive their requested absentee ballots in time to participate in today’s important primary election because the United States Post Office treated the bulk absentee ballot mailings as third class mail.  The ballots were deposited by Martin and Indian River County election officials with the United States Post Office nearly three weeks ago, but the USPS office in Jacksonville treated the absentee ballot mailings as third class mail. 

Some of the voters just today received their absentee ballots by mail, and today is the day of the election.  According to attorneys knowledgeable with Florida election law, these ballots may not be faxed, emailed or otherwise returned electronically.  That means 1,100 voters who sought to participate in the election will not be allowed to participate.

Who is running?  There are primaries for United States Senate, Alan West vs. Robert Crowder, State House, County Commissioner, Sheriff, School Supervisors, and other Congressional offices.  Examine a sample ballot here.

My book about civil rights, voting and the Justice Department, Injustice came out last October and stayed in the top 100 at Amazon and Barnes and Noble for a couple of weeks.  What I did not know, until today, is that it also made the New York Times Bestseller list for the week of October 28, 2011.  How this escaped me I have no idea.  Belated news can be as good as timely news.  Of course there are still copies to be had at Amazon or at the link over there on the left hand side of the page.

A review of Who’s Counting by Ray Hartwell.  Bring Out Your Dead at American Spectator.

 Kansas.  “The official certification of last week’s primary election will have to wait until Thursday after disagreements between the Cherokee County Commission and Cherokee County Clerk Crystal Gatewood over how the vote should be certified reached an impasse Monday.

Commission Chairman Richard Hilderbrand had asked for numbers showing how many people had voted to be correlated with how many ballots were counted.”

There’s been lots of guest blogging over the last week by Tabella and Lex – all for the benefit of ELC’s readership.  Having two other election bloggers carrying the load can be a big help.

“Watching the litigation strategy of radical advocacy groups is very revealing.”  More at National Review.

Barbra Streisand is encouraging fans to stand up and fight against new U.S. voter identification laws.  Link

Hard to believe they adopted this tenuous argument.  More at PJ Rule of Law.

A stroll down memory lane reminds us that DOJ is trying to block Florida from reforming its early voting period.  The law allows fewer days but overall equal and more convenient hours of voting,  Such a reform also allows for necessary preparations on the Sunday before a busy Election Day.  Such a reform allows 8am-5pm voters who usually work during the early voting day to have a few additional hours before or after normal work hours to drive to the early voting site and vote.

Columbus Dispatch Editorial on the Ohio ballot battle over military voting.  Not sure I would call the extra days a “perk.”  However, the Columbus Dispatch editorial board recognizes that if President Obama’s campaign is successful in its lawsuit, the additional early voting days will be eliminated.