Politics

A fire in the First Church of God in Broward (1242 N. Andrews Ave, Fort Lauderdale) has closed that polling location for Election Day.

Everyone who is assigned to that location will now be voting at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School located at 800 NW 13 Street.

This is a temporary change, which means no one will be issued a voting card for that precinct. Every voter in that precinct should have received a letter notifying them of this change.

If you have any questions or concerns about this change, voters are encouraged to call 954-357-7050. 

This weekend, thousands of early voters in Miami stood through some very long lines.

And it looks like the line hasn't let up.

On Monday afternoon, a workday, lines where still up to four hours in Miami Dade.

At North Dade Regional Library the wait was three-and-a-half hours. At Coral Reef and West Dade Regional Library it was about three hours, as well. However, the longest lines in the county were at North Dade Regional Library, where the wait time there was a grueling four hours. 

Besides the 11 proposed amendments to the state Constitution, Miami-Dade dwellers will also be deciding the fate of 8 proposed charter amendments.

 These charter amendments are significantly shorter than the state-level changes, but there are quite a few of them-- and like most ballot measures, they can be kind of confusing. However, here is our breakdown created with the help of The Florida League of Women Voters' 2012 Voting Guide. 

Early voting starts tomorrow, and many say they plan on taking advantage of the pre-Election Day hours.  Mary from North Miami writes:

I like the feeling of participation and community that comes with standing in line with neighbors I don't even know. But there's a limit to the number of hours I want to devote to this experience, and I want to make sure my vote gets in, so I'll probably be voting early next week.

There are reports flying around in Broward County that a lot of people are not getting their absentee ballots.

However, there is no reason to worry.

Broward County is not having any problems getting absentee ballots out-- there is just a lot people requesting ballots (more than usual) and the county is working to get those out.

Broward County is one of the biggest counties in the state-- so, even if just a small percentage of people haven't gotten their ballots, yet, it turns out to be a lot of people.

The eight-day, 96-hour early voting period starts Saturday at 56 polling places in South Florida's four counties.

Here's the early voting where-and-when, along with sample ballots for your county and other info you may need:

For those of you currently mulling over your absentee ballot or preparing to head over to the polls this coming week, don't be alarmed when you get to the Constitutional amendments on your ballot.

You will notice that there are amendments listed one through twelve-- but there's no Amendment 7.

 No worries, though. Your ballot isn't defective, there just is no Amendment 7 this year.

 This is why: