Kneel Before Zod.

Someone Moved Howard Srebnick's Voting Site!

 I almost forgot there was an election today, but not Howard Srebnick:

Few problems were reported throughout the day at precincts, according to the county’s elections department.

But on Miami Beach, a number of voters were angry that several polling places had been moved.

Elections spokeswoman Christina White said the department notifies all voters via postcard when their precincts are relocated, and that advertisements are placed in newspapers.

But Howard Srebnick, a Miami Beach resident and prominent criminal defense lawyer, said the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, the city’s largest polling site, was shut down “without notice.”

“This is a scandal,” Srebnick said, noting that a number of voters who usually cast ballots at 2000 Convention Center Dr. are elderly and without transportation.

A sign at the Botanical Garden polling station redirects voters of precincts 30 and 34 to another polling site, St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, 621 Alton Road – 15 blocks south. White said the elections department stationed a worker at the site to notify voters of the change.

Elections Spokeswoman Christina White said the precincts were moved because of a scheduling conflict, which the county learned about on Feb. 10.

“The site was unavailable,” she said. “It wasn’t our doing.”

Laura Jamieson, executive director of the Garden, said she notified the elections department as soon as she learned of the conflict with the recall election date.

“It’s valuable corporate business to us and it’s been booked for a full year,” she said.

Howard is right -- it's an absolute scandal that he doesn't read post cards or newspaper advertisements.

Now that I think about it, who does?

Seriously, County elections are severely screwed up and never more so than on election day.

If you are going to move an election precinct you have to do more than send out a post card and put an ad in the paper, forms of communication once popular during the Eisenhower Administration.

Indeed, people frequently have no idea where their precinct is, how are they going to find a new location if they can barely remember where they were supposed to go in the first place?

A Tale of Two AGs -- Pam Bondi vs. Dan Gelber.

Happy Monday, kids!

Did you watch a bunch of show business kids making movies of themselves, you know they don't give a....

Oh well, you know the rest.

(Lost Wages)

Remember the last election?

As they say, these things have consequences.

That's why at the same time Miami Beach mensch Dan Gelber is helping foreclosure lawyer Marc Ben-Ezra "provide support with quality control and to help evaluate policies and procedures," whatever that means, the actual AG, Pam Bondi, is doing something really important -- stopping felons from ever voting again:

Attorney General Pam Bondi says it is too easy for felons to regain their civil rights in Florida and wants new restrictions, including a waiting period of up to five years before they can seek clemency.

“I don’t believe that any felon should have an automatic restoration of rights,” said Bondi, a former Tampa prosecutor elected in November. “I believe you should have to ask, and there should be an appropriate waiting period.” (ed. note -- right after the next election!)


Bondi’s proposal, set to be formally discussed at a March 9 Cabinet meeting, would reverse a major change that took place in April 2007 at the urging of former Gov. Charlie Crist, who said the civil rights restoration process in Florida was too cumbersome and cruel to many ex-offenders.

Crist’s changes streamlined the restoration process to allow tens of thousands of felons to regain their right to vote, sit on a jury and obtain various state licenses without having to undergo a lengthy review and hearing process.

 See what happens when people vote (except released felons)?

While the poor people sleepin'
With the shade on the light
While the poor people sleepin'
All the stars come out at night

Enough With Poor People Voting!

I am so sick of watching poor people vote. Lord knows I saw more than my share of that during the 2008 election, what with Governor Crist extending the early voting and making it slightly easier for working people to get to the polls.

And look what happened!

That's why Alex Diaz de la Portilla's new proposal to eliminate their voting rights makes a lot of sense:

Republican lawmakers, who control both houses of the Legislature, have proposed sweeping changes to the state’s election laws, including new procedures on registering voters, and requiring voters to use a provisional ballot if they move shortly before an election.

The rules would also prevent anyone, including those with video or audio equipment, from getting within 100 feet of a line of voters, even if that line is outside a polling place. This would also prevent anyone from offering legal advice to voters in line.

State Senator Alex Diaz de la Portilla, a Republican from Miami and sponsor of the legislation, said the changes were a response to complaints and problems in the 2008 elections.

“We see where there were flaws, where there were holes that have to be filled,” Mr. Diaz de la Portilla said.

Hmm, I wonder which type of voter tends to move before an election? One whose house was foreclosed upon, or whose landlord was foreclosed upon, or who recently had to change jobs or divorce or find another place to live.

In other words, I think Alex is asking "should those people even be allowed to vote"?

Your tax dollars at work.