By: Associated Press

October 16, 2016

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - A judge has issued a scathing rebuke to Florida's top election official in an order cancelling a hearing on a lawsuit over vote-by-mail ballots.

U.S. District Judge Mark Walker on Saturday said he will make a decision on the lawsuit without a hearing that had been set for Monday.

The judge accused Secretary of State Ken Detzner of trying to "run out the clock" so that there wouldn't be enough time to address problems raised in the lawsuit.

He says Detzner's actions amount to an "undeclared war" on Floridians' right to vote.

The lawsuit filed by the Florida Democratic Party says thousands of vote-by-mail ballots are rejected each election because signatures on the ballot envelope and registration file don't match.

A Detzner spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a comment request.

By: Matt Galka | Capitol News Service

October 14, 2016

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) -- Every vote in the upcoming election counts... until it doesn't because you scribbled your signature a different way. The second federal voting rights case this week looks to change that.

Should your vote get thrown out because your handwriting has changed? State and national democratic parties don't think so, and took their case to federal court Friday morning.

If your signature is different now than it was when you registered to vote – it could cause your vote to not count. But people who forget to sign their ballots are given the chance to correct the mistake – mismatched signature signers are not. Attorneys for the Democratic party say that’s not right.

“There’s really no reason to treat those two categories of voters differently and have one category totally disenfranchised,” says attorney Bruce Spiva.

About 1 percent of Florida mail ballots were rejected in the 2012 presidential election. That’s about 23,000 votes. Ultimately it’s up to a county canvassing board to make the final call on rejection. Each county has their own standards, meaning results can vary.

The judge didn’t rule and another hearing is scheduled for Monday.

Attorneys representing the state didn’t provide comment after the hearing

The judge in this case ruled earlier this week in favor of Democrats. He extended Florida’s voter registration deadline to the 18th because of Hurricane Matthew.

The case comes at a time when nearly 3 million mail ballots have been sent out to Floridians – that’s nearly one in four registered voters opting to vote by mail.

By: Matt Galka | Capitol News Service

October 4, 2016

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- If you requested an absentee ballot for next month’s election, it’s likely on its way to you today. But Democrats are trying to prevent some ballots from getting thrown out.

They’re not letters to Santa, but Leon County Supervisor of Elections Ion Sancho was like a kid on Christmas Tuesday.

“We are sending out the largest number of mail ballots we have ever sent out,” he said.

More than 25,000 thousand vote by mail ballots were going out in Leon County. Almost 2.4 million statewide with the numbers representing a trend of votes coming in before the traditional election day.

But even with the options, Sancho doesn’t expect the traditional in-person polls to go away.

“I think that we probably won’t see the complete elimination of voting in person, because voting in person is the most secure way to cast a ballot and have it counted as you intended,” he said.

These ballots are going out one day after a lawsuit was filed challenging a state signature requirement.

The issue – if the signature on your mail in ballot doesn’t match your John Hancock from when you registered, your vote won’t count.

Sancho says it’s an issue for younger voters especially.

“Those individuals that registered as seniors in high school, by the time they’ve graduated from college, that signature will have changed. There are no more hearts over the “I’s” for example,” said Sancho.

The Florida Democratic Party filed the lawsuit. Part of their complaint reads that thousands of voters are being disenfranchised by a “standardless system” which fails to give them the opportunity to cure their ballots.

If someone were to forget to sign their ballot entirely, they could verify their identity with their supervisor of elections office up until the day before the election. If a signature is believed to be mismatched, the affected voter isn’t given the same opportunity.