Here We Go Again: Florida Bill gives secretary of state power over election disputes

A House committee approved a sweeping election package Wednesday that would consolidate power in the hands of the secretary of state, a position appointed by the governor. The proposal, similar to one in the Senate, would give the secretary of state, already nominally the state's chief elections official, the authority to interpret election law for county supervisors of elections in situations such as a statewide recount, as well as sole control over a statewide voter database. "I have genuine concerns that we're going to have the secretary of state, a single person, be able to shut down the recount of votes in a close election by an opinion that is almost insurmountable," said Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Dania Beach, who said the bill (HB 1589) would turn the secretary into an "election czar." Under current law, rules created by the secretary of state can be challenged in an administrative hearing by anyone who can show he would be affected by the rule, such as a candidate or political party official. The bill, passed by the House Ethics and Elections Committee Wednesday, would give the secretary the power to interpret the law in situations where a "lack of uniformity" exists and would limit challenges to only those made by elections supervisors, county election canvassing boards and other "officials performing election-related duties." The bill also would shift legal challenges from an administrative hearing, as under current law, to the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee. Such a change would create a "huge shift" of power, Ryan said, and usurp the control of the county supervisors, who are elected constitutional officers. Worse, an attorney for Democrats said, it would allow Secretary of State Glenda Hood, appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush, to promulgate rules that can't be challenged by candidates or the parties. [more]

• (Authority to Remove More Blacks from the Voter Rolls) The bill also gives the secretary of state's office complete responsibility for creating and maintaining a "central voter database" and the authority to purge voters from the database, in order to comply with the 2002 federal Help America Vote Act. Last year, Hood's office was responsible for creating a $2 million felon purge list that elections supervisors were told to use when removing ineligible voters from the voting rolls. But some supervisors could and did elect to ignore the list, while others used it.