Poll: Fla. Hispanics favor Obama over Romney, 53-37

Latino Decisions has a June 12-21 poll out today of 2000 Hispanic voters in the battleground states of Florida, Virginia, Colorado and New Mexico. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.2 percent for the overall sample and 4.9 percent for Florida.

Overall Obama was leading 63 percent to 27 percent. In Florida, with a much different Hispanic electorate, Obama was leading 53 percent to 37 percent.

Sixty two percent of Hispanic voters in Florida approved of the president's performance and 24 percent disapproved. Also, 63 percent said they were enthusiastic about voting inthe presidential race.

With it's large population of Cuban Americans and Puerto Ricans who don't face deportation issues, immigration is not the hot button issue in Florida as it elsewhere. Still, the poll found 39 percent considered immigration the top issue, 35 percent said the economy and 21 percent said jobs. Forty ffive percent in Florida said they knew someone who is an undocumented immigrant, far fewer than other states polled.

Full results here.

--ADAM C. SMITH

Atwater hopes to reform flawed contracting process by exposing it to sunlight

Florida will spend $47 billion this year hiring outsiders to provide goods and services for the state but hundreds of the contractors will not be required to show they provided services they agreed to and their documentation will be rife with errors.

Those are the conclusions of Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater after a sample audit of the 24,000 state contracts at 33 different agencies found that 35 percent were flawed.

At stake, he said: "Hundreds of millions of dollars" of the state's $70 billion budget, 67 percent of which is outsourced. 

On Wednesday, Atwater unveiled a new web site that details most of the state's contracts so the public can determine if they are being held accountable for the services they are offering. The goal, he said, is to put the heat on the flawed contracting system by turning the public into watchdogs and inviting more competitors to the table.

Judges continue to grapple with prison privatization

A last-minute change to the state budget last year that would have privatized 29 South Florida prisons continued its march through the courts Wednesday, with judges grappling with how to proceed as the end of the fiscal year looms.

The three-judge panel in the 1st District Court of Appeal may help resolve a year-long dispute over whether top legislators can slip in sweeping budget changes without vetting them through the committee process, and if so, what the limitations are.

“This is a gross misuse of proviso power,” argued M. Stephen Turner, attorney for the Florida Police Benevolent Association, which challenged the privatization plan, winning in lower courts.

Judge denies request to stop voter purge

TALLAHASSEE —U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle on Wednesday denied a request by the U.S. Department of Justice to stop Florida from removing non-U.S. citizens from the voter rolls.

The Justice Department asked for a restraining order, claiming the removal of noncitizens violates a federal law prohibiting the systemic removal of noncitizens less than 90 days before a federal election.

But Hinkle said his reading of that law does not prevent the state from taking noncitiznes off the rolls.

Attorneys for secretary of state Ken Detzner told the judge that the federal government’s request was meaningless because the purgin has stopped.

Steve Bousquet, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau

Congress congratulates Miami Heat

Here's an important, bipartisan measure put forth by the U.S. House and Senate yesterday: a resolution congratulating the Miami Heat on its NBA championship.

The House resolution notes, among other things, that "on July 9, 2010, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh were anointed the Three Kings at a ceremony in AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami" and that "the 'White Hot' Miami Heat fans sold out the AmericanAirlines Arena and cheered on their hometown team." (Read the Senate version here.)

The resolution was sponsored by Florida's two senators, Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Marco Rubio, and by two members of Congress, Democrat Alcee Hastings of Miramar and Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami. The House measure was co-sponsored by South Florida Reps. Ted Deutch, Mario Diaz-Balart, David Rivera, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Allen West and Frederica Wilson.

Poll: Obama leads Romney 45-41 in Florida

From Quinnipiac Polling Institute: 

Florida's Hispanic voters back Obama 56 - 32 percent, compared to 49 - 39 percent in a June 21 Quinnipiac University poll, conducted before Obama and Romney each made major addresses on immigration policy.

The president leads 85 - 6 percent among black voters while white voters back Romney 50 - 35 percent. Obama leads 47 - 40 percent among women, while men are divided with 43 percent for Obama and 42 percent for Romney.

Obama leads 81 - 7 percent among Democrats and 44 - 37 percent among independent voters, losing Republicans 86 - 8 percent.
 
Voters split 47 - 49 percent in their approval of the job Obama is doing and 46 - 47 percent on whether he deserves four more years.

Florida voters give Obama a split 47 - 47 percent favorability, while Romney gets a negative 37 - 42 percent favorability rating.