An executive order from Gov. Charlie Crist extending early voting hours has garnered mixed reactions across the state from county election officials.
The order, which was announced Tuesday afternoon, mandated that all early voting polling locations remain open until 7 p.m. starting immediately and stay open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the remainder of the week.
A letter on behalf of the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections was sent to Crist and Secretary of State Kurt Browning on Wednesday, stating that its members acknowledged the order but would have been better prepared if it had been consulted.
Alachua County Supervisor of Elections Pam Carpenter, who sits on the board of directors for the association, said public reaction to the extended hours has been positive, but it's made long days for poll workers.
Some officials were given only an hour's notice before the original end of voting to let poll workers know they needed to stay late, said Ann McFall, the Volusia County Supervisor of Elections.
"I wish he had not acted in haste," McFall said.
McFall, who also sits on the association's board of directors, said officials were "blindsided."
The short notice was a problem for a variety of reasons, including cost, said Ron Labasky, the association's general counsel.
Sterling Ivey, a Florida Department of State spokesman, said each county would be responsible for covering extra costs from keeping the polls open longer hours.
Polling locations have also created difficulties, said Jennifer Edwards, the association's president and the supervisor of elections for Collier County.
Because many early voting sites are housed in public libraries, supervisors were forced to ask library employees to stay later than originally scheduled, Edwards said.
"There just wasn't a lot of thought given to the operational side of early voting," she said. "It was rapid - like 'Do it, and do it now.'"
Ivey said the governor's office had no regrets in making the decision to extend hours and that it was "absolutely the right thing to do."
