According to Kendall Coffey, Florida has a lot of work to do to get its election problems under control.
It’s fourth on the list for the most electoral votes, and it’s a swing state beside. The past few elections have really underlined the need for change in their current system.
“At this point, many election officials and candidates and lawyers are exhausted. They might be tempted to move on to other issues, but we really need to think about this and how to address these problems,” he said. “I think we will take a broad look at what needs to be done to eliminate excessive lines.”
Early voting is generally liked by most voters, who would much rather send their ballots in early than wait in line for six hours at a time. Kendall Coffey pointed to the fact that ballots were still being counted into Wednesday morning—seriously delaying the final count.
“If it weren’t for Obama’s win in Ohio, the focus would be on Florida and what a mess things are here,” Coffey said.
It’s unfair to voters especially when they aren’t able to get their vote in until after one presidential candidate has already reached the winning number of electoral college votes, such as was the case for some of Florida’s residents who were up past midnight trying to vote.
The most important thing besides offering early voting, Coffey says, is making sure that there are enough resources available and working to help local election offices get voters through lines at a reasonable pace.