Republican voter registration: who's on first? by gimleteye

The following, from the Orlando Sentinel, shows the GOP voter registration effort in Florida hoist by its own petard. What's good for the goose, is good for the gander. "The Republican Party of Florida hasn't registered with the state as a "third-party" voter-registration group, a requirement that went into effect in February after a court fight stemming from a 2007 elections-law amendment passed by GOP legislators." "We must not allow the success Democrats have seen in voter registration in recent months to lead to success at the ballot box," Chairman Jim Greer said." Oops. Let's get Gov. Mark Sanford in here, to clarify a story that needs straightening out.

orlandosentinel.com/orl-bk-rpof-voter-law-062509,0,5120801.story
OrlandoSentinel.com

GOP conducts voter drives before registering with state
Party eager to cut into voter-registration gains by Democrats

Aaron Deslatte
Tallahassee Bureau
9:10 PM EDT, June 25, 2009

Florida Republicans have been zealously trying to cut into the voter-registration lead Democrats have amassed thanks to the Barack Obama campaign.

Maybe a little overzealously, it turns out.

The Republican Party of Florida hasn't registered with the state as a "third-party" voter-registration group, a requirement that went into effect in February after a court fight stemming from a 2007 elections-law amendment passed by GOP legislators. The Florida League of Women Voters sued but failed to block its implementation.

Under the law, any group collecting voter registrations -- other than official voter-registration agencies such as the state's drivers-license agency -- is required to fill out a form listing an agent and individuals responsible for "day-to-day operations." It was designed to try to restrict groups such as ACORN, which has been accused of voter-registration abuses around the country.

Now the law seems to have ensnared Republicans.

Though more than 90,000 new voters have registered since the requirement took effect, only eight groups have registered with the state. They include the local GOP committees in Pasco, Pinellas and Duval counties and the Democratic committee in Santa Rosa County.

But not the Republican Party of Florida, which has worked on at least two fundraising drives this month.

It sent a "voter-registration strike team" to the Okaloosa County Billy Bowlegs Festival and was at the La Feria de la Familia festival last weekend in Fort Myers, according to the party's press releases.

And in early June, the GOP issued a press release touting a statewide voter-registration effort getting under way. "We must not allow the success Democrats have seen in voter registration in recent months to lead to success at the ballot box," Chairman Jim Greer said in the release.

After the Orlando Sentinel contacted the Republican Party of Florida on Thursday for response, spokeswoman Katie Gordon said that "our counsel contacted the Division of Elections to determine our status, and we are currently filling out the appropriate paperwork." Late Thursday, she e-mailed that the party had registered.

There is no fine for failing to submit the forms. But groups that do file get a 75 percent reduction in any future fines that might be imposed for failing to properly collect and submit signatures, according to Division of Elections spokeswoman Jennifer Krell-Davis.

Meanwhile, the Florida Democratic Party has not registered with the state Division of Elections either. But party spokesman Eric Jotkoff said it had not had any voter drives since February.

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