Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Wait times at some South Florida polling stations exceed five hours this afternoon of the first day of early voting. IMHO this is somewhere on a continuum that runs from mismanagement to voter suppression.

You can see the Miami-Dade County Elections deptartment’s own estimates at this printout I made of the Miami-Dade County – Elections – Early Voting Wait Times page just before 4pm today.

Wait times are FIVE AND HALF HOURS at Coral Reef Library. And FIVE HOURS at North Dade Regional Library. Four other locations have wait times of three to five hours. Twelve more are one to three hours. Only two — West Flager Branch Library and Lemon City Library — are under one hour.

I was at the Coral Gables library this morning to return some library books, when the app was showing a two hour wait. The people at the front door of the library — who I would guess were still a good half hour at least from a polling machine — told me that they had been waiting two and half hours to get that far. The line went all the way around the corner and past the long side of the building. It was much too big for me to get a decent photo with my cell phone. The people working the polls told me the line started at 5:30am for the 7:00am opening.

By the time I got there, about mid-day, it was hot.

Indeed, someone collapsed while I was there and the paramedics had to be called out. I hope it wasn’t serious. Or deadly.

I blame Governor Scott and the GOP for cutting early voting days and hours and putting us through this. And I blame the GOP-controlled legislature for our absurdly long ballot.

Meanwhile, all you can do is be prepared: figure out how to vote before you get there so you don’t hold up the line. (I have a downballot cheat sheet if you want one.)

About a million people have already voted absentee in Florida, and the number is sure to grow. But if you are worried about your signature not being recognized then starting tomorrow you can vote early at any of a host of locations.

There are fewer days for early voting than there were four years ago. In 2008 there were 120 hours of early voting spread over 14 days. This year there are only eight (longer) days of early voting, adding up to 96 hours. Plus, the ballot is much longer, so wait time may be an issue. (Plan ahead! See my 2012 Voting Guide.)

How nice therefore to find this handy dandy tool online: Miami-Dade County – Elections – Early Voting Wait Times which promises some information about how long you may need to wait at the local early voting location.

Note that they do warn that “The wait times listed below are approximate and may vary based on time of arrival.” Plus, I see that even though voting doesn’t begin until tomorrow there’s already a five minute wait time listed for the North Dade Regional Library. Everywhere else currently shows zero.