More like a book than a ballot

Vote early, vote by mail. That is the message from elections officials around the state this year.

This is an election year, so of course Florida has to have headlines about the ballot. Whether it is a hanging chad, a butterfly ballot or an e-voting machine that freezes up, there is always something to talk about.

This election cycle it seems that the topic of discussion will be the sheer length of the ballot itself. With 11 amendments to the state constitution to be voted on, local and state elections, not to mention the presidential race, most counties are expecting several pages of electoral fun. Lee County's ballot will be four pages, front and back.

Voters are encouraged to research the various proposed amendments to the state constitution well before they walk into the voting booth, since some of them run to several hundred words and are written in complex legal language. They can be found at election.dos.state.fl.us. Click on the “Constitutional Amendments/Referendum” link in the menu on the left.

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