Tallahassee · Facing a firestorm of criticism in the wake of an attempt to consolidate more elections supervisory powers under his authority, Gov. Jeb Bush signaled a willingness to compromise Thursday.
Some of the state's 67 elections supervisors said Bush broke faith with them when the secretary of state's office -- an agency of the governor's office -- disclosed its recommendations for changes in the state's elections laws in a late afternoon conference call Wednesday.
"This whole process comes at the 11th hour out of the blue, completely contradicting what the Division of Elections has been telling the supervisors of elections for the last two years," veteran Leon County elections chief Ion Sancho said Thursday. "It's clear the considerations to make this change are political and not legal ones."
The recommendations from Secretary of State Glenda Hood's office also blindsided legislative leaders.
"I have seen very good policy die because of a flawed process and an unwillingness or inability to get a buy-in from all the stakeholders," Senate President Tom Lee, R-Brandon, said Thursday. "I think that will hurt the secretary of state in the Legislature when she goes to try to accomplish this objective."
A recommendation to grant the state final authority about who should be purged from voter rolls was decried as ludicrous by Sancho.
"What is a citizen going to do if [the state] screws up their registration?" Sancho asked. "They can't just walk across the street and fix the information necessary to correct the error."
Bush was conciliatory Thursday when asked about the proposals, put together by members of his office and the secretary of state's office.
"I'm not sure that that's where we end up with this," Bush said, conceding, "I kind of like the idea that supervisors should be responsible for maintaining the list."
However, Bush said the secretary of state should also be given some authority to correct wrongdoing or malfeasance.
"There needs to be a means when there hasn't been the job done, for the secretary of state, who is the chief elections officer, to be able to have the wherewithal to sanction, and to, if necessary, take charge."
Hood did not immediately return a call to comment on Thursday's developments.
Her proposals also would give Florida voters more privacy at their polling sites next year and give those who cast provisional ballots a week to prove their eligibility, instead of two days.
Part of the department's proposal was aimed at meeting a January 2006 deadline to comply with Help America Vote Act requirement for a centralized voter registration system in all 50 states.
Florida elections have been closely monitored since a disastrous 2000 presidential election when it took several recounts and five weeks of legal warfare before Bush's brother, George W. Bush, was declared president by a 537-vote edge after decisions by the Supreme Court brought a halt to the recounting.
