Elections supervisor discusses new voting laws, election challenges

The first of three Florida elections this year takes place Jan. 31, with the Republican primary.

Only Republican voters can vote in that election due to the state’s closed primary system, Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux said. Because President Barack Obama is the sole Democratic Party presidential nominee, there will be no primary for his party.

“This election’s going to be a bit of a snooze, but when November gets here, things will pick up,” Lux said, addressing the Friends of the Crestview Library Thursday morning.

There are some changes this election year.

Among state election changes passed in 2011 was a reduction of the early voting period by five days, but with a mandate that polls be open on a Sunday, Lux said.

“We used to not be open Sundays because we as supervisors of elections had that flexibility,” he said. “Now we have no choice.”

Lux said the only local voting location change is Precinct 45’s switch from St. Mark United Methodist Church on P.J. Adams Parkway to Foxwood Country Club, 4927 Antioch Rd., to alleviate traffic congestion on the busy road during evening rush hour.

“One of the positive changes deals with how we deal with address changes,” he said. “If you move within the county, you can make changes over the phone, by email or using the website. Even on election day you can go to the polling place and make that change.”

The Legislature, smarting over former Gov. Charlie Crist’s switch to an independent candidacy, also made it harder for a candidate to change party affiliations, Lux said.

“In order to run for a partisan political office with a party affiliation, you have to sign an oath saying you haven’t been a member of another party for 365 days,” Lux said. “It keeps people from hopping between parties. Both parties supported this change, by the way.”

Another change might require the entire text of a constitutional amendment to be printed on the ballot instead of a summary, Lux said. Several variations of a summary can be submitted. If a judge rejects them all, then the state attorney general can write a summary.

“If that’s not approved, then the Legislature can step in,” Lux said. “If that happens, then the full text of the amendment will be considered ‘clear and unambiguous’” and could be printed on the ballot. The potential impact on Lux’s office could be a ballot that is three 18-inch-long sheets, he said, increasing paper and postage costs.

If a voter doesn’t understand an amendment, it is permissible to skip it on a ballot, Lux said.

“It’s probably not politically correct for me to tell people if you don’t know what you’re voting on, just leave it blank,” he said.

There have been some interesting amendments in the past.

In 2002, at the urging of out-of-state animal rights activists, Florida voters enshrined in the state’s constitution an amendment protecting pregnant pigs. That, Lux said, was one of the consequences of having the nation’s easiest-to-change state constitutions.

The most commonly used method of putting an amendment on a ballot is legislation, which accounts for 80 percent of proposed amendments, and citizen initiatives, Lux said.

“They’ve actually done two things to limit citizens’ initiatives,” Lux said, including allowing less time to gather signatures and a requirement that amendments must garner a 60 percent vote to pass instead of the previous 50-percent-plus-one.

“They’ve already made it harder for citizens’ initiatives but they haven’t done anything to limit themselves,” Lux said.

As for those pregnant pigs, before the new constitutional amendment went into effect in 2008, Lux said, it forced all of Florida’s pig farms out of business — both of them.

2012 Election Dates

* Presidential Preference Primary: Jan. 31 (last day to register or change party: Jan. 3)

* Primary Election: Aug. 14 (last day to register or change party: July 16)

* General Election: Nov. 6 (last day to register: Oct. 9)

Visit www.govote-okaloosa.com to verify voter registration names and addresses, confirm or change party affiliation, see sample ballots, locate polling places and request absentee ballots, or call the Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections office at 689-5600, or visit the office in the Buddy Brackin Building, 302 Wilson St., Suite 102.

WHO'S PREFILED FOR NORTH COUNTY SEATS

Clerk of Circuit Court: Don Howard*

Sheriff: Larry Ashley*, Steven Menchel, Tony Taylor

Property Appraiser: Pete Smith

Tax Collector: Ben Anderson*, Bill Roberts

Superintendent of Schools: Alexis Tibbetts*, Mary Beth Jackson

School Board Member, District 4: Cathy Thigpen*, Rob English, JB Whitten

Supervisor of Elections: Paul Lux*

County Commissioner:

District 1: Wayne Harris*

District 3: Nathan D. Boyles, Dennis Reeves, Bill Smith

* = incumbent