With up to seven hour waits to vote early in Miami-Dade County last week, Mayor Carlos Gimenez said Wednesday he would like to double or triple the number of early-voting sites for the next presidential election.
So how about one at Marlins Park?
"Why not?" Gimenez told The Miami Herald, which first raised the issue. "It'd be great. Close the roof, too -- make it air conditioned."
Problem is, the state only allows early-voting sites at municipal-owned buildings such as libraries and city halls. Despite being funded mostly by public money, the Marlins' new Little Havana ballpark would not qualify.
"We can get the concessions going. We can have a ton of people voting there," Gimenez said about the staidum. "We can have a ton of people voting there and have a baseball game, how about that?
"But we can't -- not for early voting."
Miami-Dade has long asked state lawmakers to allow other early-voting locations. Gimenez said Wednesday he plans to continue making that request.
And, he said, who knows? Maybe the ballpark could serve as a precinct on Election Day.
The Orange Bowl at the same location was always a precinct. I used to vote there.
Posted by: Pedro | November 07, 2012 at 09:17 PM