Miami-Dade commissioners are expected Wednesday to urge the state legislature to allow Election Day voters to drop off their absentee ballots at their local precincts, and ask the mayor to identify funding to repair and upgrade the county’s 203 bridges.
Returning absentee ballots to local precincts was one of 13 recommendations in a report by an Election Advisory Group that needs local and state approval to become law. Now, absentee ballots can only be returned to election headquarters in Doral.
The advisory group, created after the embarrassing November presidential election saw people waiting in lines for up to six hours, also wants to change the name of absentee ballots to “Vote by Mail.”
Other recommended voting changes include expanding early voting days from eight to 14, including the last Sunday before an election; expanding the number of permissible voting sites; limiting ballot language on constitutional amendments to 75 words; and expanding the number of days elections supervisors are allowed to total and check votes from 15 to 20.
Commissioners are also expected Wednesday to urge Mayor Carlos Gimenez to identify funding sources to repair the county’s bridges. The county estimates that over the next two decades it will need as much as $450 million for repairs. The issue came to light in early January when the county was forced to close down the west-bound half of Bear Cut Bridge leading to Key Biscayne, after structural flaws were found.
Election reform, bridge repairs top Miami-Dade Commission agenda
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Election reform, bridge repairs top Miami-Dade Commission agenda
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Election reform, bridge repairs top Miami-Dade Commission agenda
