Primary Day!

Today is primary day. If you don't have time to read newspapers (or blogs) or acquaint yourself in some other fashion with who's running and what they stand for, Don't Vote. You'd be doing a disservice. It's not about pulling a lever and getting a sticker. It's about making an informed choice. If you don't have time to get informed, that's fine. Just sit this one out.

If voting, polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Florida has a closed primary, but there are also non-partisan races on the ballot that everyone can vote on: judges, and Sheriff, Property Appraiser and Supervisor of Elections.

I don't vote in primaries. But if I did, I would march straight out there and vote against Susan Bucher for Supervisor of Elections. Which means that I would vote for Nelson "Woodie" McDuffie, currently mayor of Delray Beach, who is challenging her.

Susan Bucher

Susan Bucher is a former Democrat state representative from West Palm Beach, and she's very, very political. I would prefer someone who doesn't come to the job with an agenda. This should not be a political position. Think about it. This is the person who counts the votes.

Specifically...Susan Bucher is refusing to work with the state to maintain the roll of registered voters. A check of the state voter roll showed a lot of potential non-citizens, many of whom were voting illegally and diluting the votes of citizens. But Bucher refused to send out notices to those in Palm Beach County asking them to submit verification of their eligibility -- even though these people had identified themselves as non-citizens when obtaining drivers licenses at one point. The words "Voter Purge" made it into a lot of headlines. But this was not a purge at all. It was just asking voters who'd told the state at some point in time that they were not citizens that they needed to confirm that they now Are citizens in order to remain on the voter roll.

Bucher wouldn't have it. She refused to send out the notices. How many non-citizens does Palm Beach County have on its voter roll? No one knows. Bucher doesn't know. She says there are plenty of checks in place to ensure only those who are eligible can register to vote. This is not true. She doesn't understand the system. Thanks to the "Motor Voter" law, you can register to vote on a post card. If you don't have a driver's license or a social security number, you can leave those fields blank. Then you put it in the mail and a week or so later you get your Voter Card. Simple! Then a couple months before the election you can call and request an absentee ballot, and they'll send it to you in the mail -- no ID ever requested, no one ever confirming that you are in fact a real, live person.

A good voter roll is the basis of a free and fair election. Non-citizens voting erodes representative democracy.

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/ignored-barack-obama-dhs-floridas-request-citizenship-database-review-voting-lists