Now Sosa wants to take it a step further.
In order to restore integrity to the absentee ballot process, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Rebeca Sosa will introduce a resolution at the Board of County Commissioners meeting scheduled for Thursday, September 6, urging the Florida Legislature to reinstate “for cause” absentee ballot requirements that were in place prior to 1997.
Previously, in order to request an absentee ballot, a voter had to indicate that he or she qualified under needed circumstances. Effective January 1, 1997, the Florida Legislature eliminated the “for cause” absentee ballot requirements allowing anyone, “who is unable to attend the polls on election day” pursuant to Chapter 96-57, Laws of Florida to place an absentee ballot request. Sosa said:
“It is our responsibility to preserve the most precious right of a Democracy, the right to vote...I will continue to work on legislation that will preserve a citizen’s right to vote and restore integrity to the absentee ballot process.”
If the legislature adopts this return to absentee ballots for voters who cannot vote because of illness, or because they are away (servicemen, students, etc.) I would be very surprised but with the advent of early voting, there is no reason why we can't use this system once again. Politicians in Tallahassee: you really should consider this. It would be better for you, it gives you more time to convince voters to vote for you. Mounting a campaign when voters are getting ballots about a month before election day is an ungodly task.
I came to the same conclusion as Sosa earlier this week. I wrote on August 30th, "These ballot collectors are like cockroaches - you can't eradicate them. We can continue to legislate against the behavior but it will never stop. The expansion of absentee ballots (from people who can't get to polls, to the general public) just does not work."
Photo: Taken at Carlos Gimenez's first swearing in. Note over her shoulder, working the crowd is Ron Book and Rodney Barreto.
25 comments:
I don't think the State Legislature will do anything unless pressured. It's nice to have this "resolution" but the BCC does them all the time and I've never seen much response from either the Fed Government or our State.
Sosa is going to need the Miami Delegations to put some pressure on them and she'll need help.
Sosa has done good locally and at least has a good handle on the problems with the AB's at the State level. I'll be interested to hear any commissioner not voting for this.
One would be Linda Bell, who won by AB's, not at the polls.
Sosa said she would go to Tallahassee to lobby for absentee ballot reform. I think she can be very persuasive. She has friends in high places...Marco Rubio for instance.
Rubio used ballot brokers
They ALL use ballot brokers except some of the losers.
They ALL use ballot brokers except some of the losers.
But if the legislature continues to restrict Early Voting - they have already contracted it to 8 days, which is not all that terrible, and eliminated the last Sun., which is, and they could very well eliminate all weekend voting - we will have a very bad problem with voter disenfranchisement.
#6 poster - I don't know your age, but I well remember not too long ago, there was NO early voting! Gee, what did people do back then? They went to the polls either before or after work. Those who didn't work out of the home or were retired actually showed up during the day!
I'm so sick of this "disenfranchised" argument. PROVE IT!
There's no excuse not to vote unless you don't want to. The AB's should be used at originally intended per what Sosa is proposing and the State had no business creating this train wreck we now have!
This is reminding me of the voter ID hoopla. Again, a bunch of nonsense with a false and unproven argument.
Stop it already...........Until someone provides "facts" and not rhetoric, I will think of anyone using that argument as just not well thought out (I don't want to say stupid, because I don't believe that).
Commissioner Sosa is on the right track. She will have the advantage of a Grand Jury report and multiple court rulings prior to the legislative session.
A coordinated push from the association of election supervisors, an outraged public, along with criminal convictions should be sufficient context to win some support in Tallahassee.
The phony reformers who want the taxpayers to buy postage stamps for their boletero operations should get behind Commissioner Sosa's real fixes.
Ha! That's what makes our community UNIQUE! In the case of the "sold" ballots, all these politicians start as offenders, just to end up being the great defenders of the cause! What a riot! LOL So Marquito Rubio's "madrina" -- godmother, for those who don't speak Spanish -- is heading the case against the absentee ballots! What a bunch of cynical crooks they all are! I suppose the next in line to go against this "scandal" will be the Diaz de la Portilla clan... and then I will really die from laughter.
Sosa was elected with close 60% of the vote in 2001...many years before the State Legislature removed the witness requirement and made absentee voting a 'no-excuse-necessary' method of voting. It is lazy to attack her for being part of this problem, when she never had to rely on these boleteros to get elected. To Anon above, would you prefer everyone just sit on their hands and do nothing?
Voter fraud is very prevalent, but not with people voting in person. It is the absentee ballot fraud that is out of control. I hope there is some legislation to address this, but am not optimistic. The current bunch of elected officials often use this illegal gathering of AB to keep themselves in office.
Rebecca Sosa great idea girl!
Kudos Commissioner Sosa! I was hoping one of the 13 would come up with this idea. However, she will need to convince the Dade Delegation to help her lobby Tallahassee, isn't Rene Garcia part of the Dade Delegation? Good luck Commissioner!
Don't agree. I have always found commissioner Sosa to be one of the most reasonable of the County Commissioners.
Does that include her voting record?
Genius, it so happens that I am the first person who alerted you years ago (five or six?) about the absentee ballots, and how the Cuban seniors had become “addicted” to selling them to either ‘boleteras” or brokers hired by the “political advisors.” Today, I am telling you that the absentee ballots business has been going on in this community as far as 1996, when Alex Penelas was first elected. I happened to be working, at the time, for a noted Hispanic political advisor and that’s how I became aware of this crooked maneuver. About Rebeca Sosa, you claim that you’ve always founded her to be reasonable. Well, it so happens that you only have half of the story because you don’t speak Spanish and you have no idea of what goes on the reverse side of the county you know – and that “reverse” is for Spanish. No one who has kissed Marta Flores derrière consistently and repulsively throughout the years, as Rebeca has, is worth a dime... no matter how much they pose as a "reasonable person" in front of people like you. Only those who are aware of the bilingual manipulations that take place in this hellhole are entitled to speak intelligently. Sorry to make you a foreigner in your own land, but this is a fact. And for the stupid Anon who states that this didn’t happen when Rebeca was elected – which was 2001 – where the hell have you been living, jerk? The North Pole?
Oh please...
I SAID:
I have always found commissioner Sosa to be one of the most reasonable of the County Commissioners.
READ WHAT I SAID ABOVE....AND YOU ARGUE WITH THAT????...WHO IS MORE REASONABLE ON THE COUNTY COMMISSION?
MAYBE MOSS SOMETIMES AND SALLY HEYMAN?
Don't attack someone when they are attempting to do something good. Who cares about her friendship with a radio host?
Did you forget that Commissioner Sosa supported the new Marlins Ballpark. Lets see what the results of the federal investigation into the entire funding of the park and determine what if anything the Marlin organization did to secure the majority of county commissioners support. How can anyone have any confidence or trust in a commissioner who refused to force the Marlins organization to open their books. Someting any normal person who want to see and if a private business requests that tax dollars be spent on their business while they refused to show their books. I know Commissioner Sosa was not born here but is she that stupid or maybe just another dirty commissioner like so many others befor her doing what most Dade County Commissioners do and that is line their pockets and insure that they continue to get re-elected over and over again. Commissioner Sosa really has no business on the BCC at all but she is Cuban and she lives in Dade County and thats that.I remember her saying on TV the ball park would bring lots of people to Miami to watch our Marlins. Well commissioner Sosa where are all those sport fans and where is all the money these sport fans are spending in our community?? Lets see what the investigation says she got for her support, after all its common knowledge that the Marlins targeted the commissioners they were sure they could buy their vote for public funding and there support to prevent the issue from being placed on a ballot where the citizens would make the final decision. lets hope that this investigation will result in criminal charges against the commissioners who for the right price either in cash or in political contributions voted for the Ballpark to be built with tax money rather than have the Marlins pay for their own ballpark. Hey Commissioner what if a regular citizen were to ask you to build them a home with tax dollars? Would you build it? of course not, then why may I ask did you support the ballpark?...$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
You are unbelievable. What did I say "reasonable' I didn't say perfect. We get more good votes from her than the majority of the others. This isn't about the Marlin vote and the public doesn't seem to care as Jordan and Moss easily sailed right back into office.
Right On, Genius. No one is perfect, but Sosa, at least, tries hard to do the right thing. It is hard enough to get through the lobbyists... give her credit, where credit is earned.
Genius I also agree with you Sosa is one of the good ones in my book. At least someone is stepping up to the plate. As for the Marlins stadium did it ever occur to someone that there are MANY who are happy with the stadium.
Bring back public Hangings and Voter Fraud will go away. Arrest those that are voting that are not citizens. Find out who they voted for and arrest them too. Maybe only two or three will remain in office the rest in jail.
Miami-Dade County
Home Rule Charter
Article - 1
Board of
County Commissioners
SECTION 1.01. POWERS.
20. Make investigations of county affairs, inquire
into the conduct, accounts, records,
and transactions of any department or office
of the county, and for these purposes require
15
reports from all county officers and employees,
subpoena witnesses, administer oaths,
and require the production of records.
16
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