Please Sign the Petition~ Miami-Dade Quietly Implemented Closure of Bathrooms At All Polling Places

[Cha]

Remember how bad the voter lines were on Election Day in 2012? In Florida, some stayed in line for over six hours.

And now, they won’t be able to use the bathroom. The Miami-Dade County Elections Department has quietly implemented a policy... to close the bathrooms at all polling facilities.

Make no mistake about it. This is a political scheme to depress voter turnout in a heavily Democratic county, and it’s also probably illegal for violating basic disability law.

Urge U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate this new Florida voting rule which closes all restrooms at polling places on Election Day.

Earlier this year, the Miami-Dade County Elections Department quietly implemented a policy to close the bathrooms at all polling facilities, according to disability rights lawyer Marc Dubin. Dubin said the policy change was in “direct response” to an inquiry to the Elections Department about whether they had assessed accessibility of polling place bathrooms to those with disabilities.
“I was expecting them to say either yes we have or yes we will,” Dubin said.

Instead, he received a written response announcing that the county would close all restrooms at polling places “to ensure that individuals with disabilities are not treated unfairly,” a January email stated. “[T]he Department’s policy is not to permit access to restrooms at polling sites on election days,” Assistant County Attorney Shanika Graves said in a Feb. 14 email.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE: http://wefb.it/7C1C98 PLEASE!

dkos

Whatever the reason for closing the public restrooms at the Polling Places by the Miami-Dade County Elections Department this should Not be allowed to stand.

end snip//

"This would seem itself to disenfranchise voters with medical conditions that prohibit standing for six straight hours without a bathroom break, so I expect this will not be the last we hear of this."

Mahalo~

[yuiyoshida]

1. This is on Facebook?

I don't use facebook, and refuse to sign up for it.

[silverweb]

2. You can sign it at the Daily Kos website without FB.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]That's where I signed it.

[Cha]

4. Hey, thanks silverweb..

[silverweb]

11. Glad to be of service!

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]I refuse to allow any other site access to my personal FB information, friends, etc, so I always look for another way.

[Cha]

14. And, I'm being weird.. I

don't care~

[silverweb]

33. Proudly "weird" myself...

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]... so we're in mutually good company.

[Cha]

34. Yeah, admitting and then flying with it..

such a relief and to be in such good company..

[silverweb]

43. ...

[Cha]

3. If you go to the dkos link in the OP you can also sign the petition..

Mahalo yuiyoshida~

[mississippi62]

5. That's what you get for electing Voldemort

Voter suppression is evil

[Cha]

6. Well, here's to Charlie Crist straightening out their Voter Suppression

a$$es in Florida

[Bjorn Against]

7. The real problem is not that the bathrooms are being closed, the real problem is the long waits

There is no reason that people should have to wait in line for hours, they should be providing enough polling booths so that no one needs to wait for any longer than fifteen minutes. If they could reduce the lines to a reasonable length so that no one had to wait more than fifteen minutes the bathrooms would be a non-issue as the waits would be short enough that people could hold it. States that do not provide enough polling booths to ensure people are able to vote in a quick manner should be fined by the federal government, it is ridiculous that some states are being allowed to get away with this kind of crap.

[Cha]

8. Yes, it's a Huge Problem and hopefully Charlie Crist being elected will help with that. In the

mean time the bathrooms have been closed and that's not fair to all the people standing in those long lines. So I don't think a Petition asking the DOJ to look into it is asking too much.

[Bjorn Against]

9. I certainly think the Justice Department needs to look into it...

I just think we need to recognize that the issue with the bathrooms is a symptom of the problem but it is not the big problem, the big problem is that Florida is making it impossible for people in certain parts of the state to vote without sacrificing hours out of their day. Six hours is way too long to make people wait whether they need to use the bathroom or not. The Justice Department needs to investigate why the lines are so long to begin with.

[Cha]

10. I agree.. thank you.

[juajen]

46. I don't believe that the bathrooms atj

our local school where we vote are open to the general public. Maybe for the workers. I am going to ask. Our wait is small.

[sheshe2]

12. Kick Rec and Signing!

Thanks to Holder for investigating this! This is gross violation of the peoples right to vote, long lines are inexcusable taking away facilities is a crime.

Thank you Cha!

[Cha]

16. We have to get him to investigate this, she.. I think it will also

Shine Another on the Inadequate Number of Polling Places in Florida.

[ucrdem]

13. Big K'n'R!

[Cha]

17. Mahalo ucr! I think it will also Shine another Light on the

Inadequate Number of Polling Places in Florida.. and beyond?

One can hope!

[William769]

15. I lived in Miami for 10 years.

You don't necessarily need a bathroom to go to the bathroom.

[Cha]

18. Well, I'm glad it worked

out for you, William! I just know if I were there standing in those lines for 6 hours and working up a thirst.. glugging my Smart water I would want to be able to take 5(somebody saving my place of course).

I think it's adding injury to insult!

[William769]

19. To clarify I am retired law enforcement.

So it did not necessarily work out for me if you know what I mean.

ETA: I am still in S.W. Florida and it's big news here.

[Cha]

20. Wow..

you're retired law enforcement?

The closing of the restrooms at Polling places in Miami Dade County is big news? Good!

I'm getting the feeling not that many people think this is a BFD and not in a good way like I do.

[William769]

22. 20 years.

10 of it in Miami (well 5 LE, 5 DOC).

[Cha]

24. I did not see that

coming!

Good on ya, William!

[William769]

29. Neither did they when I came out of the closet!

I am one to make an entrance don't ya know.

I did wait till retirement though. How things have changed.

[Cha]

32. We're so fortunate for all our Gay Activists and having President

Obama in there to MAKE this CHANGE HAPPEN!


I had this really neat graphic that I wanted to use.. but my fb page isn't uploading for some strange reason.. so, I'm gonna try to Fix that .. and hopefully later..

Well, now it won't post on DU.. so you'll have to go to my fb page..

https://www.facebook.com/cha.evans.925?fref=browse_search

[flamingdem]

21. K&R Thanks for this Cha

Really important to do this

[Cha]

28. I thought so.. it's not complicated.. those Peeps

need to have the Bathrooms OPEN on Election DAY/VOTING DAY! Damn their heartless greedy actions.

[grilled onions]

23. What A Loo Loo

It's such a cheap shot by those who must be snickering over this grand idea of theirs. Knowing that Florida is full of seniors and with seniors come many who have a disability of some sort that requires constant potty breaks, they must have thought this would be an easy way to chip off those pesky democrat votes. Don't let them get away with it. If they can pull their crap in FL other "cheap shot" states will follow.

[oldandhappy]

26. The oldsters are t-folk so they are shooting themselves in the foot.

[Cha]

30. You nailed it, grilled onions! "Cheap Shot", indeed.. totally describes

it. Exactly.. if they can pull this off in Miami-Dade County.. other counties will follow and then other states!

[oldandhappy]

25. Please go to web site for Miami-Dade gov

and send an email. I sent one saying Dems would be delighted to provide rolling porta-potties and we would even let Republicans use them. We need to make this rule so ridiculous that even the perps will want to back off. Thanks.

[Cha]

37. Miami-Dade gov Website link!! Thanks oldandhappy!

Miami-Dade.Gov

[JI7]

27. signed through the dkos site

[Cha]

36. Thank you, JI7!

[justhanginon]

31. done at dkos. Hope it helps, this is just ridiculous!

[Cha]

38. Thank you, justhaninon.. it is ridiculous!

[orbitalman]

35. I would just love to whip out my weenie...

and piss on and all over their table.

[HeiressofBickworth]

39. Yet another reason I appreciate

that the State of Washington has mail-in ballots. If you are a registered voter (which isn't hard; can be done on-line) you get a ballot and return envelope in the mail about 3 weeks before the election date. They also send a voter pamphlet (one per household) with all the measures on the ballots, including pro and con statements by supporters and bios of each of the candidates. The completed ballots can either be sent back by mail or, at least in my county, there are several drop-boxes around where you can drive up, don't even have to get out of your car, and deposit the ballot. Ballots can be returned anytime after you receive them and before the election date.

If we can do it here, why can't it be done in the other states. No registration difficulties, no lines, no bathroom problems.

It drives me mad to read about all of the efforts in other states targeted against specific groups of people. There was an item on one of the MSNBC programs (sorry, forgot which one) where a group of people did a test run to their assigned polling station. It took over an hour by bus with a couple of transfers along the way. I'm sure I don't need to mention the color or economic status of the people affected by this.

[Cha]

40. Yes, it's really frustrating and sad how easy it is to vote in other states that Are Not

Trying to Suppress our Right to Vote!

Thank you for the description of how easy it is for you to vote in Washington State, HeiressofBickworth!

I live about 3 blks from my polling place on Kaua'i and it was so easy!

[HeiressofBickworth]

41. And here are the requirements

taken from the state website:

How to register to vote in Washington
Register to vote online at the Secretary of State website.
or
Complete a voter registration form at any driver licensing office.
You can register to vote if you are:
A citizen of the United States.
A legal resident of Washington State and have lived at your address for at least 30 days before the election.
At least 18 years old when you vote.
Not under Department of Corrections supervision for a Washington felony conviction.
and
Not disqualified from voting due to a court order.

Despite how easy it is to register and vote here, I don't recall any charges of voter fraud in the state.

Glad to hear HI is easy voting for you!!

[Cha]

44. Thank you, HoB.. right.. all the "voter fraud" charges come from republican states

that have nothing to offer but suppressing Dem Voter turnout and registration.

[steve2470]

42. signed via dkos ! nt

[Cha]

45. Thanks steve! For the Kick and

R, too.

[G_j]

47. some interesting comments,

"wear depends and leave the used one in the waste basket on your way out."

[WinkyDink]

49. Yes, because the custodians are probably Republicans. NOT.

[WinkyDink]

48. "And we will rip up all sidewalks, steps, and ramps, and disallow all walkers and canes. Equality!"

[Tarheel_Dem]

50. K&R

[Cha]

54. Thank you, Tarheel!

[liberal N proud]

51. Sounds like its time to mobilize porta-potties near polling places.

Rent a parking lot or space across the street and set up a couple of porta-potties.

[Cha]

52. Last resort.. Call me crazy but I think they should keep the restrooms OPEN

for the VOTERS.. maybe this petition will help.

[liberal N proud]

53. Hope so