Early Voting News: Week of April 10th, 2005

Been a bit under the weather this week, apologies for the lack of updates.

Florida
Legislators have been unwilling to address the issue of long lines at early voting centers in Florida, a serious problem in 2004. Florida, unlike many other states (e.g. Tennessee or Texas) only allows early voting at branch offices, city halls and libraries. That is too few locations to satisfy the demand for early voting among Floridians.
St Petersburg Times.

Illinois
The Illinois State Senate has approved a bill extending early voting to three weeks before election day, reports the Chicago Tribune.
The Daily Southtown published an editorial in favor of this legislation, which also would abolish local election boards and extend early voting. Early voting, they argue, undermines the ability of campaigns to launch last minute attack ads.

Nevada
Lawmakers in Nevada are trying to shorten the period for early voting, apparently due to concerns over ballot integrity and fraud. This is the first legal effort to restrict early voting that I've encountered. Las Vegas Sun