Racing against a 5 p.m. petition deadline

For a lot of people in Florida, 5 p.m. Friday can't come soon enough, and others wish the moment would never arrive. That's the deadline for county election supervisors to report to the state on the number of verified voter signatures on petitions seeking to amend the state Constitution in November.

As the hours tick away, attention focuses on two petitions, both of them controversial. Hometown Democracy's petition would require voter approval for local land use changes that intensify development, and Florida4Marriage would put a ban on same sex marriages into the Constitution. Both groups' petition-gathering efforts are shrouded in mystery because the state stopped giving daily updates Jan. 11.

Clerks across the state are drowning in petitions. The Division of Election has a bank of FIVE fax machines to avoid busy signals, and put election supervisors on notice that paperwork (verification totals) faxed to the Division of Elections after 5 p.m. today won't be counted. John Stemberger of Florida4Marriage sent a letter to election supervisors earlier this week notifying them of last-minute stacks of petitions headed to their offices. The state will certify all totals at noon Saturday.   

Comments

Leave the damn Constitution alone!!!

We hoodwinked the voters into allowing the State’s Constitution to be used to validate the act of taxation of the people (aka: Amendment 1)… why not use it to control development and keep homertesticles from getting married?

We’re on a roll thanks to the ill-informed masses in Floriduuuuuh!

Please keep the irresponsible 1.35% measure off the ballot.

11:44 am - yes, let's keep something off the ballot that at least makes some sense. But that pathetic piece of garbage that passed the other night is now part of it unless some judge shows some smarts and throws the whole thing out!

I am starting a petition drive to amend the state constitution that requires the state pay each and every individual in Florida $1,000 annually. There should be enough people that will get on board...

$18,000,000,000 annual expenditure... it can be done...

[Hattori Hanzo]

12:14, that's just crazy.

So crazy it just might WORK!

I am starting a petition drive to amend the state constitution to make it illegal to start petition drives… and require that 18-million petitions be signed in order to overturn it.