Editorial Board foot, meet Editorial Board mouth.
For all our whiny screeds and nay saying, we would like to cut our losses now and offer congratulations to the early voting activists for their part in the huge early voting turnout in Alachua County and the rest of the state.
We would also like to give a pat on the back to the more than 10 percent of registered Florida voters who have already cast their ballots, forcing Gov. Charlie Crist to declare a state of emergency.
Crist took this action to extend voting hours to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. until Nov. 2, which is the last day to cast an early vote. The governor hopes the increased voting time will maximize Florida's turnout (we just hope that our state will avoid another embarrassing voting fiasco).
When we first heard about the terminology used to accomplish this, we couldn't help but laugh. An aspiration for maximum voter turnout isn't what we would normally associate with declaring a state of emergency.
Maybe we're stuck in 2004, but when we hear the term "state of emergency," we tend to think of evacuation routes, Visqueen and downed power lines, not an overzealous voter population.
The Editorial Board recognizes the importance of early voting and voting in general (despite the occasional leave-us-alone-while-we-go-to-class rant). The fact that campus organizations like UF Students for Barack Obama and the College Republicans have physically driven people to the polls to cast early votes is a testament to the dedication of political activists.
We are always glad to see Gators taking a lead role in important social issues.
