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ALISA ULFERTSThe ballots can be cast only in a voter's home precinct.
TALLAHASSEE - Florida voters can't use provisional ballots except in their home precincts, the Florida Supreme Court unanimously ruled Monday.
The state's largest labor unions and the American Civil Liberties Union contended that the law restricting provisional ballots to home precincts would disenfranchise voters. Besides, they argued, the state constitution merely says votes must be cast in someone's home county, not home precinct.
But the court said the state Constitution gives the Legislature the power to set election rules, and the law it passed clearly states that provisional ballots must be cast in home precincts.
The Legislature created provisional ballots in the wake of the 2000 Florida election mess when an untold number of people could not vote because elections officials mistakenly concluded they were not registered. Some were removed from the rolls because elections officials erroneously thought they were felons, who are barred from voting unless they have their rights restored.
The Supreme Court said the precinct system is "a regulation of the voting process, not a qualification placed on the voter."
Representatives from the ACLU and the Democratic Party, which has strong ties to the labor unions, expressed disappointment.
"I think it's a tragedy because we now will have some people shut out of the process," said Democratic Party chairman Scott Maddox. He urged Florida lawmakers to change the law.
Secretary of State Glenda Hood applauded the decision because it will help ensure an orderly election.
"The Supreme Court correctly ruled that provisional ballots do not impose an unnecessary restraint but were put in place by Florida's Legislature to create a smooth, fair and seamless election," Hood said.
Provisional ballots are counted if elections officials confirm a voter's registration.
Lawyers for the unions pointed out that early voting, which began Monday statewide, are not restricted by precinct. Rejecting provisional ballots cast at the wrong precinct makes no sense when registration can easily be confirmed, said ACLU Florida director Howard Simon.
"This is one of several issues that marks the trauma of trying to drag Florida, kicking and screaming, out of the horse and buggy age and into the 21st century," Simon said. Forcing people to vote in a specific precinct is akin to forcing people to do all their banking at "the old red brick bank on the town square," he added.
Particularly disturbing, he said, is that a federal judge in Ohio last week ruled that provisional ballots there cannot be thrown out because they were cast at the wrong precinct, Simon said.
"There's nothing sacred about the precinct-based system, particularly when it's being used to toss out perfectly good ballots," Simon said.
Other lawsuits filed over this election are still in play, including one the ACLU and Florida Legal Services filed last week in Miami over elections officials' decision to toss the registration form of a Broward County woman who failed to check off a box certifying that she was an American citizen even though she signed an oath on the same form.