Florida Sen. Bill Nelson met with his constituents Wednesday afternoon for a town hall meeting as part of his re-election campaign.
Nelson spoke to a crowd of about 30 at the Florida Innovation Hub, berating state election law and urging bipartisanship in all levels of the government.
Gainesville was one of at least 10 town hall stops the senator will make around Florida.
“Sen. Nelson and the city of Gainesville are certainly no strangers,” Mayor Craig Lowe said. “He checks in frequently to let us know what is going on in Washington and how that impacts us. We have a lot to thank him for.”
Nelson went on to rail against changes the Florida Legislature, which is mainly comprised of Republicans, made to the state election law. These measures include cutting early voting hours in at least half and disallowing voting on the Sunday before an election.
He said research shows that Sunday is the time when most African Americans and Hispanics vote.
“It’s hard for me to believe this is happening in 2012 in America,” Nelson said. “I thought we went through this in the right of access to the ballot during the civil rights battle.”
He expressed the need for bipartisanship.
Frank Ogborn, audience member and mayor of Archer, agreed.
“I’m a Republican. He’s a Democrat,” Ogborn said. “But, I’m here anyway because we’ve got to work together.”
Contact Adrianna Paidas at apaidas@alligator.org.
