[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 12, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S932]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           VOTER SUPPRESSION

  Mr. NELSON. Madam President, with what we went through in the State 
of Florida in the attempts to suppress voters, you would think that 
with the experience of people having stood in line in order to vote for 
5 to 7 hours, it would have put this issue to rest. But they are back 
at it again, this time in a very subtle way.
  The Governor's office, through his appointed secretary of state, who 
is the chief elections officer, has now interpreted a statute that in a 
municipal election students at the University of Florida cannot early 
vote on campus at their student center prior to the election. The 
interpretation was made that it is an educational facility and does not 
qualify, according to the statute, on a technical reason: that it is 
not a government-owned conference facility, when, indeed, it is owned 
by the State of Florida through the university, and it is a conference 
facility for many conferences for outside groups as well as student 
groups.
  No, what it is is an attempt, in the runup to the November election, 
to try to make it more difficult and less convenient for students to 
vote.
  As it turns out, in this particular municipal election coming up 
shortly, students would have to go across town to some other location 
some 3 miles away, and, of course, as busy as students are, that is 
going to discourage them.
  If they end up doing this for this special election in March, a 
municipal election, they are, of course, going to try to do it for the 
November election when we have a statewide election for the Governor 
and the cabinet. Why? Well, an attempt to suppress student voters who 
may not be voting for the people in power who are trying to suppress 
their votes.
  It is all the more of interest because on the ballot there will be a 
proposed constitutional amendment to change the State constitution to 
allow, by doctors, the prescription of medical marijuana, which is 
something that has generated interest in all sectors of society but 
particularly among students--another reason they want to come out to 
vote.
  The whole idea of early voting is to try to make it more convenient 
for people to be able to vote, that they might not be able to vote 
because of a babysitter problem or a work problem on election day. But 
early voting, as we saw in the experience of the 2012 election--the 
days were shortened from 14 to 8. They cut out the Sunday before the 
Tuesday election. Professor Dan Smith, in doing a study at the 
University of Florida, found that those who availed themselves of 
Sunday voting were primarily Hispanics and African Americans. Indeed, 
attempts were made to limit the number of early voting locations within 
a county, and then, of those early vote locations, having a facility 
that was small so that you could not get in a lot of voting machines. 
This was another way--very subtle--of trying to suppress the vote.
  So the people of Florida, naturally, were outraged, particularly when 
they heard stories of the 101-year-old lady who had to stay 3\1/2\ 
hours in order to cast her vote and the others who stayed 5 and 7 
hours. They were not going to have their vote taken away from them. 
They stood in line. So the people were outraged.
  There was an attempt to pass a new law. I will close with this. With 
this new law now as being interpreted, the very same suppression 
efforts are occurring again. We are simply not going to let this happen 
even if we have to call in the Justice Department.

                          ____________________