Won't Take A Chance On Chance Irving

Chance Irving was appointed by Jeb Bush to the Florida Elections Commission. She opposes a provision in the election bill that would make it harder for complaints to be filed.

Republican legislators who sponsored the elections bill have defended the provision dealing with the Elections Commission, contending it will cut down on unfounded complaints investigated by the panel, whose members are selected by Democratic and Republican legislative leaders. The legislation says a person filing a complaint must have personal knowledge of an election law violation, instead of relying on hearsay information from others or newspaper reports. A complaint, however, could be based on public records.

''It makes it more difficult for frivolous complaints to be launched,'' said Rep. David Rivera, a Miami Republican. ``If Chairman Irvine believes she's better able to make elections law, she could consider running for office again.''

Rep. Dan Gelber, a Miami Beach Democrat, said Democrats were opposed to the change, but were warned by Republicans that the bill would die if they pushed any last-minute amendments. Gelber predicted that state attorneys will wind up being asked to pursue election law cases because of the new measure.

Republicans have been using bogus voter fraud cases to scare off minorities from the polls. Guy Tunnell's harrassment of African-American voters is disgraceful. He was appointed by Jeb Bush. I'm skeptical that Irving has Floridians' best interest in mind. Democrats should let the provision go through and use the legislative process to make laws to protect voting rights.