I stood in line for more than two hours to vote in this important election. There were people in line who had to take vacation time off from work in order to vote. Apparently, the long lines and waiting times were the norm throughout Miami-Dade. It’s inconceivable that early voting was shortened and our governor refused to extend early voting to bring much-needed relief to voters who endured unreasonable circumstances to exercise their democratic responsibility.

Miami-Dade’s Mayor Carlos Gimenez was apparently not willing to buck the GOP-controlled state government and request an extension to bring relief to the people he was elected to represent. I can’t remember a time when one party and its elected officials have conspired more to suppress voters that they perceive are the opposition electorate. This is an affront to the democratic process. A politically motivated strategy to discourage voter participation isn’t what our forefathers had in mind when designing this democracy.

Don Allen, Miami