Planning on early voting this Sunday after services? Well, plan otherwise, you are not. What has developed into the traditional last-day of early voting for those who cannot take time off for work week elections will now become a day of confusion and consternation as Miami-Dade elections department changed the schedule earlier this week to comply with a new elections law. This new election law in part, requires early voting to end three days before Election Day.
In Florida, most new laws take effect on July 1st to provide notice and a cooling off period. Why did the effective date of this new law need to be any different? We are not talking about safety issues that require immediate resolution; we are talking about the cornerstone of democracy – the right and the accessibility of voting.
A lawsuit was filed by county mayoral candidate Marcelo Llorente, who was represented by noted elections lawyer and former state lawmaker J.C. Planas seeking to force the traditional last Sunday before the election early voting date. The lawsuit was filed to argue that the elections department acted unconstitutionally when it did away with early voting scheduled for Sunday.
