It's Always Florida Isn't It?

Yes, it's a story from February, but once again, the state of Florida is f$#@ing with the right to vote.

A little-known legal opinion issued days before Florida's presidential primary has slammed the door on public oversight of the final vote tally in Florida elections.

The closure comes because of questions posed by Sarasota County Election Supervisor Kathy Dent, whose controversial District 13 congressional race drew national scrutiny in 2006.

Attorneys for the Florida Department of State say county election supervisors can eject outside observers from central computer rooms as they receive and add precinct results.

Their ruling hinges on where votes are actually counted, a process that state law requires be open to observers. They contend that "tabulation" occurs at individual precincts and that computers in the central room are merely "accumulating" those results.

What is more, the opinion states, observers and the public can be excluded from watching the local canvassing boards that must certify those vote counts -- as long as there is alternative access, such as listening over a speaker system.

Florida: still a banana republic.