Voter Education: The Key to Election Reform Success Lessons from Florida

Over a dozen national task forces and commissions have analyzed the 2000 presidential election and concluded that electoral system reforms are imperative not just in Florida, but nationwide. Among the common recommendations are elimination of punch card ballots, enhancement of registration procedures and outreach, provision of more accurate voter lists, clear delineation of appeals processes, establishment of voter rights and responsibilities, clarification of recount rules and procedures, securing of accessible polling places, better facilitation of voting and proper counting of absentee ballots, and ensuring provisional ballots available at each precinct. For these reforms to be most effective, the reports say, better voter education is needed, and elections officials and poll workers must receive better training. Florida has passed laws mandating better voter education, along with many other electoral reforms, in both the 2001 and 2002 legislative sessions. The sweeping Florida Election Reform Act of 2001 requires all 67 county supervisors of elections to file voter education plans with the Division of Elections in the Florida Department of State in order to qualify for state funds. (The Act appropriated nearly $6 million for voter education in fiscal year 2001-2002 in addition to$24 million for purchase of new voting equipment, fiscal years 2001-2003.) Laws passed in the 2002 session broaden the scope of voter education responsibilities, more definitively spell out voter rights, and ensure that Florida\u27s electoral system conforms with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This Article details the content and thrust of Florida s voter education efforts and examines the creative educational efforts underway at the local level that other states\u27 communities would do well to follow, lest they become the objects of major litigation, the sites of political furor, and the objects of unwanted national attention

The Cannabinoid Use in Progressive Inflammatory brain Disease (CUPID) trial: a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled parallel-group multicentre trial and economic evaluation of cannabinoids to slow progression in multiple sclerosis.

This is a freely-available open access publication. Please cite the published version which is available via the DOI link in this record.The Cannabinoid Use in Progressive Inflammatory brain Disease (CUPID) trial aimed to determine whether or not oral Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ(9)-THC) slowed the course of progressive multiple sclerosis (MS); evaluate safety of cannabinoid administration; and, improve methods for testing treatments in progressive MS.The National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programmeMedical Research Council Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation programmeMultiple Sclerosis SocietyMultiple Sclerosis Trus

Voter Education: The Key to Election Reform Success Lessons from Florida

Over a dozen national task forces and commissions have analyzed the 2000 presidential election and concluded that electoral system reforms are imperative not just in Florida, but nationwide. Among the common recommendations are elimination of punch card ballots, enhancement of registration procedures and outreach, provision of more accurate voter lists, clear delineation of appeals processes, establishment of voter rights and responsibilities, clarification of recount rules and procedures, securing of accessible polling places, better facilitation of voting and proper counting of absentee ballots, and ensuring provisional ballots available at each precinct. For these reforms to be most effective, the reports say, better voter education is needed, and elections officials and poll workers must receive better training. Florida has passed laws mandating better voter education, along with many other electoral reforms, in both the 2001 and 2002 legislative sessions. The sweeping Florida Election Reform Act of 2001 requires all 67 county supervisors of elections to file voter education plans with the Division of Elections in the Florida Department of State in order to qualify for state funds. (The Act appropriated nearly $6 million for voter education in fiscal year 2001-2002 in addition to$24 million for purchase of new voting equipment, fiscal years 2001-2003.) Laws passed in the 2002 session broaden the scope of voter education responsibilities, more definitively spell out voter rights, and ensure that Florida\u27s electoral system conforms with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This Article details the content and thrust of Florida s voter education efforts and examines the creative educational efforts underway at the local level that other states\u27 communities would do well to follow, lest they become the objects of major litigation, the sites of political furor, and the objects of unwanted national attention

Young v. old : generational combat in the 21st century/ Macmanus

xvii, 302 hal.; tab.; 24 c

Interlocal Emergency Management Collaboration: Vertical and Horizontal Roadblocks

This study, based on a statewide survey of local officials in Florida, examines the degree to which vertical and horizontal roadblocks to interlocal cooperation persist well after the 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina mega-disasters. Respondents evaluate the degree to which vertical constraints (state and federal mandates) and horizontal constraints (political tensions and competition for funding; incompatible communication equipment and inconsistent information-sharing; and local cost-sharing complexities and training and personnel qualification differences) still deter collaboration. Incompatible communication equipment is the most cited barrier, followed by the rules and legal complexities inherent in state and federal mandates and interlocal cost-sharing agreements. Today, local EM officials judge horizontally generated deterrents to collaboration to be nearly equal to vertically imposed roadblocks. Perceptions differ significantly by jurisdiction, population size, MSA location, and position. Copyright , Oxford University Press.