Long lines, no relief for frustrated Florida voters

>>> show. thanks for watching tonight. long lines, short tempers and lots of confusion tonight. over early voting in the state of florida . voters report standing in line for four, five, six, even seven hours to cast a ballot in south florida this weekend. these are working people who say they can't take off work to get to the polls on tuesday. but governor rick scott , he doesn't care. he refused to extend voting hourses. he doesn't want anybody to vote today. so civil rights advocates filed suits and judges in five counties in the state of florida went over the governor's head and extended voting hours. hundreds of people lined up in miami -dade. just after two hours, election officials said they didn't have enough resources and they locked the doors. the voters started chanting.

>> let us vote!

>> election officials brought in another ballot printer and more staffers so that they could reopen for a few more hours. miami -dade, broward and palm beach counties say they'll accept ballots tomorrow. still voting in florida has become a serious challenge.

>> look at this mess.

>> no, it ain't no mess.

>> i've been in this line for seven hours. i got here at 7:30 in the morning. and i was finally done at 2:30 or 2:40.

>> both jeb bush and charlie crist extended voting hours when they were governor, but rick scott refuses. the republican mayor of miami and top republicans in tallahassee say these voters don't need an extension. you believe that? they say they don't need an extension. if there's one thing we can't do in the country, it's vote properly. this is america. you mean to tell me with all the internet technology and communications skills and resources at our fingertips, this is what america looks like? in a very important election. and you're going to tell me we can't do better than this? washington ought to fix this no matter who wins. maybe they're hoping the democrats just will go home. they don't want to wait in line anymore. joining me tonight, mitch sezer. he's also on the executive board of the democratic committee as a representative of the 14 southern states . i mean, it's great to have you with us tonight. but it just infuriates me when i see video tape like that. i mean, we vote like a third world country.

>> well, welcome to ground zero . homeland of rick scott . i will expand the bid and tell you that folks who got online before 7:00, those people had a process by either midnight or 1:00 a.m . this morning. these are people who want their dmok, want the right to vote, and what's standing in their way, as you said, is governor rick scott .

>> why is he doing this? why isn't he saying we're going to exhaust every effort we can to make sure there's democracy. i know the answer to it. i want to hear yours.

>> it's obvious democrats do well in early voting . statistics prove it. also minorities, especially in south florida tend the vote. originally there twr two early vote days cut in half to repent minority votes. specifically african-american kmurj goers wo would march to the polls. you know, it's interesting ed. it's an amazing coincidence. all the republicans governors came up with the ideas, presumably individually about two years ago. and yet it all seemed to come together for them. obviously tl no coincidences in politics. there are none in life.

>> i have said all along that i think south florida is the bread basket of victory for president obama in the state of florida . but as far as the number of people coming out do you see it equals that in 2008 ?

>> well, i think it's running relatively close. i will give you a statistic that is not public in broward county . when you up all the early voting in 2008 , by the close of the polls tuesday night, broward county will equal but probably probably surpass 2008 totals for early and absentee voting . in spite of governor rick scott .

>> well, excellent point. i also see that rick scott is also appeared with mitt romney one time in the last nine months. why is that?

>> well, obviously he's radio active here. he's the invisible man politically. mitt romney may change his mind every other day. the one thing he hasn't changed his mind about is never appearing on the same stage as rick scott . this guy is toxic. i chatted with him. he is just home. he's a returning veteran. he was very angry. he was online for three or four hours already and said i don't mind suing for the country and fighting for the country. i don't appreciate having to fight for my rights to vote.

>> thanks for joining us tonight. appreciate it so much. next up, the romney camp finally responds to their lie about cheap outsourcing jobs to china, and it's not pretty. teamster's president james hoffa will weigh in and have the latest on the ground from ohio. and a few days ago karl rove predicting victory for romney. hear what excuse he came up with to save his hide. you're watching the ed show coming to you live in democracy plaza in new york city . [ dog