Jeb Bush defends dropping absentee-ballot witnesses

(I'm shocked, I tell you!)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/politics/8769650.htm?1c

Posted on Thu, May. 27, 2004

FLORIDA ELECTION LAW

Bush defends dropping absentee-ballot witnesses

Despite concerns, Gov. Jeb Bush sees no harm in a new law that ends the state's long-standing witness requirement for absentee ballots.

BY GARY FINEOUT

gfineout@herald.com

TALLAHASSEE - For the past few years, Leon County Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho has had what he calls the ''six ballot'' rule in his office.

If more than six absentee ballots delivered to his office had the same person listed as a witness, he and his staff set the ballots aside and asked the local canvassing board to consider throwing them out.

Sancho's rationale is simple: If a person is witnessing more than six ballots, there's a greater chance that some of those ballots may not be valid.

''It raises the specter of fraudulent activity,'' said Sancho, who acknowledges that his policy goes far beyond what is required under state law.

But on Tuesday, Gov. Jeb Bush signed into a law a measure that will forever drop the witness requirement from absentee ballots. Starting this July, absentee ballots will only need the signature of the voter in order to be considered valid.

With the witness requirement dropped, Florida will essentially be offering voting by mail.

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to amaze me. You've got to hand it to them, they know how to cover the bases. As far as I am concerned, as long as Jeb Bush is governor of Florida, democrats can write the state off.

No state I've voted in ever required a witness for an absentee ballot.

Your signature should be enough (as it is when you vote at the polls).

And the six witness rule is a dumb rule. It throws out ballots based on a presumption.

Sancho should count them as provisional ballots and investigate. They should count them until they're proven fraudulent.

You could easily forge witness signatures so by having them you only disqualify people who can't/don't get them.

they robbed it again