Governor extends early voting hours

Gov. Charlie Crist signed an executive order today extending early voting hours. Effective immediately, early voting sites will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Friday, and for a total of 12 hours between 7 a.m. Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday.

"I have spoken with the secretary of state and members of the Florida Legislature and have concluded that it is always the right thing to do to give voters every opportunity to cast a ballot," Crist said in a news release.

The executive order says that because a record number of Floridians have registered to vote for the first time and new voting systems are being used in 15 counties, "there is a possibility that election officials will be unable to conduct an orderly election, and residents in our state could be deprived of a meaningful opportunity to vote."

Early voting, which began on Oct. 20 and runs through Nov. 2, has drawn record numbers to the polls. Current Florida law allows early voting to be conducted eight hours a day on each weekday and a total of eight hours on weekends.

Janet Zink, Times Staff Writer