As we head into the 2012 election cycle, it is important to clarify some specific election procedures that seem to have been of concern to some Miami-Dade County citizens. In the fury of a number of divisive elections, a few voices called for a variety of actions limiting the ability of some individuals to vote. Of course, such calls touch a raw nerve, as is indicated in a recent headline of the National Weekly, a South Florida Caribbean newspaper, which proclaimed, “Voter suppression looms in Florida.”

Let me outline some of the election issues about which citizens may be confused or about which they may have misconceptions. As we have done in past elections, and will continue to do in the future, every citizen complaint regarding potential violations of our elections laws will be reviewed by my office. Most complaints come through the Voter Fraud Hotline, which we established years ago.

Recently, some have questioned voting by elderly, physically, or mentally frail citizens in the recent elections. Advanced age, physical, or mental frailty is not a bar to voting in our nation. The department of elections will not turn away voters from polling sites simply because they are elderly, physically, or mentally frail. If physical mobility were the standard, someone with a brilliant mind but a tortured body, like theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, would never be allowed to vote.

The situation is dramatically different for those individuals adjudicated incompetent by a court of law; in other words, individuals who have been stripped of all their rights to care for themselves. They cannot vote. The names of those persons who have been adjudicated incompetent are reported by the courts to the state’s election department. In turn those names are turned over to local elections department officials. These mentally frail citizens are ineligible to vote only if they have met all the required legal criteria.

More generally, if there is a question regarding a voter’s mental competency, identity, or eligibility to vote in a particular election, then the voter will be given a provisional ballot. That provisional ballot does not appear any different from an ordinary ballot. Some critics fail to recognize this important step undertaken when there is some kind of a qualifying concern. Adding to an observer’s possible confusion is the fact that the voter will not be directly challenged in the voting place. This is to avoid a disruptive conflict at the polling site. The provisional ballots are submitted for review by the appropriate canvassing board for determination of validity before they are considered in final ballot counts.

Absentee ballots are another area where there is great confusion. It is not illegal in our state for persons to contact voters and offer to assist them in filling out absentee ballots. Any person can obtain from the elections department a list of voters who have requested absentee ballots. Such contacts are easily done since the list includes the voter’s name and address. This is a matter of public record. Most political campaigns maintain standing requests with the elections department for these lists. All of this is legal.

A new county ordinance now provides criminal penalties for picking up and/or returning — whether by hand, by mail, or any other way — more than two absentee ballots other than one’s own. This ordinance mimics a similar state law, which does not, however, currently have any criminal penalties.

Some have also raised concerns about people voting without identification (i.e. voters forgot their wallets or lost their identifications). Again, in these situations, the voter will not be immediately challenged to avoid creating a conflict at the polling site. The voter will be given a provisional ballot, which will then be submitted for review by a canvassing board for determination of validity before they are considered in final ballot counts.

I hope that clarifying some of these issues will reduce the level of tension and confrontation so often a part of our local election cycle. Elections are the cornerstone of our democracy, so if you believe you have observed some election improprieties, please call our Elections Hotline at 305-547-3300. Preserving our democracy is always our personal responsibility.

Katherine Fernandez Rundle is the state attorney for Miami-Dade County.