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Posted on 09/28/2004 10:58:17 AM PDT by MaineRepublic
MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida's attempts to avoid a repeat of the 2000 election fiasco took another hit late Monday when federal judges ordered a lower court to hear a lawsuit demanding that electronic voting machines be equipped to print receipts for voters.
While it was unclear whether any ruling on the lawsuit would be issued before the Nov. 2 presidential election, electoral reform activists and state officials alike warned on Tuesday that with barely a month to go, there would not be enough time to comply anyway.
"It's not just, get a machine and hook it up," said Jenny Nash, a spokeswoman for Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood, the state's top election overseer.
In a decision handed down Monday evening, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a Florida district court's rejection of the lawsuit and ordered the court to rehear the case.
Nash said redesigned machines that could print a receipt would have to be certified, mass produced, purchased by county election authorities, and then poll workers would have to be trained to use them.
"So many things have to be put in place in order for that to happen and that would not be something that would be viable for the November election," she said.
The state government, run by President Bush (news - web sites)'s brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, said on Tuesday the decision by the appeals court was "procedural" because it merely addresses the court's jurisdiction and not the merits of the case.
But U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler (news, bio, voting record), a Florida Democrat who brought the suit demanding printable receipts so voters could verify their ballots were accurately recorded, viewed the ruling as a victory for voting rights.
2000 ELECTION FIASCO
"I am deeply disturbed that Gov. Jeb Bush and Glenda Hood continue to be an impediment to repairing the disaster of 2000," Wexler said.
The presidential election in 2000 was such a tight race in Florida it led to weeks of ballot recounts and lawsuits, delaying the final election result until the U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) ordered a halt -- and handed Bush a 537-vote victory in the state over then-Democratic Vice President Al Gore (news - web sites).
The punch card ballots that led to the chaos were abandoned. Fifteen counties, including the most populous, switched to electronic voting machines and the remaining 52 counties opted for optical scanning equipment to record ballots in computers.
But the state did not ensure there would be a paper trail for the electronic voting systems so that they could be audited after the election, dismaying Democrats and activists.
Critics of the state government already won one victory when a court struck down a law banning manual recounts. The practical implications of that ruling were still being worked out with all interested parties, said Nash.
Even some proponents of paper records for votes cast on touch screen machines hoped the latest court decision would not have any implications for the November election.
"I believe we need a paper backup, we need a tangible way of looking at what's going on with these voting machines. But when it comes down to practicalities I would have to say it's too late," said Sandy Wayland, legislative chair of pressure group the Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition.
The tussle over making voting machines auditable is just one of several issues pitting Gov. Bush against activists and Democrats, and which led former President Jimmy Carter to warn on Monday that the 2004 presidential election in the state was likely to be as flawed as the last one.
Carter, whose Carter Center foundation monitors elections around the world, accused Hood of partisan bias and Gov. Bush of taking no steps to ensure free and equal treatment between voters -- charges that Nash rejected as misinformed.
Either the citizens of FL will vote for Kerry, or they won't vote at all.
Touchscreen is Good, But there is no justifiable reason for Touchscreen without a double printed receipt, like what you get from a Store. One Copy goes in a box, one in your pocket.
IMO No, it's not.
I'm for pen to paper voting.
How do you know that what is printed on the receipt is the same as how the computer counted it?
...The punch card ballots that led to the chaos were abandoned. Fifteen counties, including the most populous, switched to electronic voting machines and the remaining 52 counties opted for optical scanning equipment to record ballots in computers...
The 15 most populous counties (yea, and how many of those counties are heavily infested with democrats?) are now not happy with their OWN choice of voting machine. Amazing.
The problem with holding a fair election in Florida isn't the equipment, it's snakes like Wexler who want to cheat.
That is why you get two, and one goes with the machine.
Trust, but verify.
That's not what I mean.
How do you know that the machine records your vote the same as it is printed on the receipt?
Example:
You vote for Bush, the receipt says Bush, but in the final tally your vote is recorded for Kerry.
jumbled post...........
Because the Paper creates an Audit Trail. The machines would have to be physically tallied.
How do you know ANY mechanical device records what you tell it to ?
Because I get e-mails from the little men inside them that do the counting.......
I think the main problem is that we (the country) want an instantaneous announcement on who won.
I think it'd be better if they take 2-3 days to do the count.
I see what you mean about doing a physical tally, but if they're going to do that way why have the machines in the 1st place?
All we have right now are machines. And some with no Paper Trail. And After all, Touchscreen works fine at the ATM.....
Touchscreen with Receipt makes just a little easier, and more efficient, and if EVERY VOTE had a paper trail, YOu owuldnt have some of the more nefarious schemes (like the Overvote) able to be used.....
But if things get worse I think more drastic steps may have to be taken
LOL...Has Supervisor LePore ordered enough of those ? We may see a lawsuit for extended polling hours....
It is imperative that there are no doubts on either
side that all votes cast everywhere are correctly
counted.
We can not afford another Florida-2000.
I think we should get the world’s expert in this
area to approve the upcoming election prior to voting.
Until Jimmy Carter has approved the ballot counting
methods in every county in every state in the union
we should not begin voting.
Postpone the election until Democrats are in agreement
that balloting methods everywhere are sound and beyond
reproach.
We can begin the next elected Presidents four year term
then; when ever that is. (I don’t care how long it takes).
NO RECOUNTS NEEDED!!! NO RECOUNTS ALLOWED!!!
CB^)
The error rate on these SAT bubble type ballot is next to zero.
I will admit that some of these counties have "out-teched" themselves, but Bob Wexler needs to shut his ass up. Voter rights? Whatever, punk boy.
Let's say I'm John Kerry, and I want to pay a fellow $10 to vote for me. He goes in and votes. With the secret ballot, there is no way to guarantee that the person voted the way he was paid to. With the reciept as you described it, you could give them the $10 in return for the receipt, and you'd know that the individual voted like you wanted. I don't think that's a very good idea.
Are you saying you dont think that vote buying goes on now?
I would bet that far more 'overvotes' are manufactured, than you could ever make up from vote buying.
I suggested this four years ago here at FR (different nom de guerre back then)during the recounts. If the ATM can print me a receipt and track my money thru 3 bank accounts, then a voting machine can track my single vote and print receipts. It's so simple...in fact, I like it better than just sliding the vote into the ballot box.
Nothing like having a bona fide copy of your vote. You can go back in a few years and see who you voted for, assess their performance, and vote 'em out. And receipts would quiet most of the "disenfranchised" accusations.
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