Tax-swap ballot challenge in court today

A hearing is scheduled in Leon County circuit court today on a business group’s suit to knock the “tax swap” constitutional amendment off of the November ballot.

Plaintiffs in the case claim that the ballot language for Amendment 5 is ambiguous, not telling voters its full effect. The amendment would abolish the “local required effort” portion of county property taxes for school support, requiring future Legislatures to come up with between $9 billion and $11 billion in replacement revenues. Judge John Cooper will hear the case.

Attorney Barry Richard, representing a coalition of nearly 30 business groups, said in a legal memo that the ballot language refers to a limit on annual assessments of real estate. But he said that is “at best, ambiguous” and would mislead voters about the far-reaching impact of the amendment.

Assistant attorney general Lou Hubener and two outside attorneys will argue in defense of the proposal, which was put on the ballot by the Tax and Budget Reform Commission.

Regulators grill State Farm officials over 47 percent hike request

State regulators Tuesday aggressively grilled State Farm officials asking them to justify their request for a 47 percent increase to homeowners insurance rates.

Four Office of Insurance Regulation officials squared off in a Capitol hearing room at tables a dozen feet from four State Farm executives — put under oath to tell the truth — and argued about reasonable profits, discounts for protecting against wind damage, expected hurricane losses, state law and complex computer models.
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Early primary voting fires up

Early voting got off to a smooth start today, with thousands of Floridians casting ballots for Florida’s primaries.

“This really takes the pressure off for Election Day,” said Hillsborough County Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson. “Early voting is so new, the archival information is just not large enough to make an extrapolation about what it means for voter turnout, but it’s extremely popular.”

Johnson said the process was moving smoothly at 13 early voting locations across Hillsborough.   

In Brevard County, assistant Elections Supervisor Duwayne Lundgren said there was one minor problem when a key to a ballot-scanning machine was missing, but the delay was only about three minutes. He said things were running smoothly at five locations in the county.

A spot-check of elections offices across the state also showed heavy demand for mailed ballots this year. Voter interest is usually higher in presidential years, and voter registration figures released Sunday night showed a gain of 415,000 voters statewide over the past seven months.   

Some candidates used the occasion to grab a little free publicity, by showing up with their families and crowds of supporters to vote on the first day of pre-primary balloting. Campaign strategists also like the method because it allows party volunteers to vote early and be free on Election Day to work for their candidates.

Operating hours and days vary from county to county, but early voting is generally available at county courthouses and satellite locations during normal business hours and for eight hours next weekend. Leon County Elections Supervisor Ion Sancho said weekend operations can be either Saturday or Sunday, or four hours on each day, depending on a county’s staffing demands.   

Early voting ends on Sunday, Aug. 24, so elections offices can use the Monday before the primary date to distribute machinery and get ready for the big day.

Democrats set new date to vote electors

The Florida Democratic Party has finally nailed down a time and place for its do-over meeting to select a slate of 27 members of the Electoral College.   

It’s set for 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 20, at the IBEW union hall in Orlando.   

A problem arose over the weekend when the Democratic State Executive Committee met in Tampa to choose 27 electors, but couldn’t get a quorum. State law requires both parties to submit certified lists of electors to the governor’s office before Sept. 1.   

Party leaders initially called for an Aug. 18 meeting, time and place to be determined. But Democratic National Committeeman Jon Ausman of Tallahassee pointed out that the date didn’t allow 10 days notice, as required by party rules.   

Ausman said that if Sen. Barack Obama carries Florida but his electors are not chosen with strict compliance to every rule and law, the Republicans might go to court and challenge those 27 votes — maybe even affecting the national outcome in a close race. Remember 2000, Ausman said, recalling the 36 days of court fights and recounts over Florida’s then-25 electoral votes.   

So today, the party set the new date. Democratic Party spokesman Eric Jotkoff said lawyers have assured the leadership that notifying executive committee members by e-mail, fax and phone ought to be legally sufficient.   

“We expect a large turnout at the meeting because the members of the State Executive Committee are understand it is their duty to approve the slate of electors, so when Barack Obama wins Florida, there will be no question about our electors,” said Jotkoff.   

Florida Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer marveled at the Democratic disarray. Last spring, the party fought for a couple of months over seating of Florida delegates to the national convention, which was resolved after a long and divisive fight between Obama supporters and backers of Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y.   

“The continued inability of the Florida Democrats to get their act together simply amazes me,” said Greer.
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