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Voter drive may backfire

The NRA seeks for gun and bait shops to be required to register voters. But shop owners say it's just one more government burden.

By ALEX LEARY
Published January 25, 2006

TALLAHASSEE - In Florida, residents can register to vote while getting a driver's license, checking out books at the library or logging onto the Internet.

Now, the National Rifle Association wants to add some other options: local gun and bait shops.

Coming off recent political victories, the NRA wants a law allowing people to register to vote anywhere else fishing and hunting licenses are sold in Florida, including Wal-Mart.

But the bill, to be discussed by a House committee this afternoon, is drawing reverse fire. What advocates view as a way to maximize civic involvement - and beef up Republican support - is seen by some shop owners as an onerous bureaucratic intrusion.

"It's the heavy hand of government slapping me in the head," said Jackie Wagner, owner of the Bait Bucket in Tierra Verde near St. Petersburg.

Wagner and others would be required to ask customers if they are registered to vote and offer signup cards to those who say no. The clerks would not collect completed cards.

"It's not my job to get people to vote," said Wagner, who sold 1,000 fishing licenses last year. "My job is to make customers go out and have fun. I don't want them to feel guilty or burdened about voting."

State elections officials worry the proposal could begin to undo the Legislature's own efforts to tighten the flow of voter registration information, which became a priority after widespread allegations of abuse during the 2004 elections.

"Supervisors will do whatever we're told to do, but we think the bill needs to be cleaned up," said Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Kurt Browning.

Sponsors say it is simply a matter of convenience, and not a novel one at that.

"It's just another avenue to get folks involved in voting," said Rep. Greg Evers, a Republican from rural Baker in the Panhandle who is sponsoring the bill (HB 125). He was working on several revisions late Tuesday.

Fourteen other House Republicans have signed on as co-sponsors, including Rep. John Legg of New Port Richey. The Senate version is sponsored by Republican Sen. Carey Baker, who owns a gun shop in Mount Dora.

With important issues coming to the fore concerning the state's natural resources, Baker said, it is important to have sporting enthusiasts involved in the political process.

Still, the argument already is emerging that imposing a requirement on private business to perform a civic duty could clash with the bedrock Republican principle of less government.

"That may have some merit," Baker conceded. "But I still think it's an important thing to try."

So does the NRA. "It's natural to look for other places to make it convenient for working people to do two or more things at one time," said the group's Florida lobbyist, Marion Hammer.

To some, those places are untapped hot spots of Republican support and reveal a true motivation for the bill.

"Not to say Democrats don't hunt or fish, but this is really targeted at rural communities that tend to vote Republican," said Rep. Susan Bucher, D-West Palm Beach, who serves on the House Ethics and Elections Committee that will take up the bill today.

Years ago, it was the Republicans crying foul. The federal "motor voter" law, which was passed in 1993 and went into effect in 1995, was blasted because it allowed voter registration at not only motor vehicle offices but welfare offices and other places where people get government services.

Critics contended that it was a naked attempt by Democrats, who controlled Congress at the time, to use the government to bolster their party rolls because many people getting government assistance traditionally voted Democrat.

Hammer said her organization could care less whether people register as Democrats or Republicans. "The NRA is nonpartisan. We just want people who believe how we do to register to vote."

The NRA, which has given about $400,000 to Florida lawmakers since 1996, nearly all of it to Republicans or the Republican Party, has scored some key political victories in Tallahassee in recent years.

Gun range owners are now afforded immunity from lead cleanup lawsuits and police are barred from keeping electronic lists of law-abiding gun owners. Last year, Gov. Jeb Bush signed a bill allowing people to shoot attackers in their home or in public places.

This year, the NRA is seeking a law that would penalize businesses that stop employees from bringing guns to work in their vehicles. The voter registration law may prove far less controversial and has already gained support of some Democrats hoping to draw more voters into the political process.

"The NRA and I do not agree on a lot of things, but it's refreshing and quite a surprise that the NRA has come up with a good idea," said Tim Ryan, D-Dania Beach.

The bill duplicates "shooter voter" legislation enacted two years ago in Georgia, although it has not yet been implemented due to lack of funding. Florida lawmakers tried to win support for the idea last year but failed.

Licenses are sold in 680 retail establishments and 250 tax collector offices across Florida. Each year, about 2.2-million are sold, 40 percent through Wal-Mart. (Wal-Mart officials are aware of the proposal but have not yet taken a position.)

Shop owners that fail to comply could be fined up to $2,500 - a threat some state officials feel may prompt some to stop offering fishing or hunting licenses.

Gator MacRae of MacRae's Bait Shop in Homosassa said the state gives him only 50 cents for every license sold. The bill does not increase that amount.

Many times there is only one person behind the counter at MacRae's. "I might have four or five customers waiting," he said, "and here I'm trying to help a guy register to vote."

Times staff writer Steve Bousquet contributed to this report.

[Last modified January 25, 2006, 00:56:11]