Democratic issue
How about giving government workers the day off, with orders to stay away from the polls? The Democratic National Committee will work harder for the general election than it did for the primary to ensure the perception of chaos. It's the Democrats' only issue.
3 areas to improve
After much thought and consideration, I find the subject of this week's Friday Forum to be both comical and ironic. Imagine ordinary citizens suggesting improvements and actually being paid attention to by appointed and elected officials. What a concept! After that, perhaps politicians would begin considering the needs of their constituents. Well, let's not get too carried away.
The difficulties with the election process in Florida, as I view it, could possibly be boiled down to three major points.
First is the equipment issue. Consistency is key. Every voter in the state, whether in Key West, or Pensacola, should be having the same voting experience. A statewide system, regardless of whether a certain area has had irregularities in the past or not, would benefit everyone.
Second is staffing. Two qualities that are important in a poll worker are competence (an excellent grasp of the alphabet) and capability (clearly not a position for the severely visually or hearing impaired). Being of retirement age should not be required. No offense intended, but maybe when screening these applicants, resumes should be more closely scrutinized.
Last of all -- and this is always an issue -- there's money. I do not know how much is needed or where it should come from. I could suggest the two avenues that seem to be the most popular with other issues: the lottery or an increase in the sales tax. These always seem to be successful ways to raise funds.
Whatever is done, and however it is done, it is clear that this matter must be resolved efficiently and swiftly. The great state of Florida has withstood enough embarrassment and humiliation to last a good long time.
Not that complicated
In order to avoid the chaos of the last two elections in Florida I would suggest the following:
First, all people from elections supervisors to poll workers should complete the required training.In addition, there is absolutely no reason for not having the voting places staffed and opened on time.
Voting, even with the new touch screens, is not that complicated. We voters need to accept the responsibility of learning to read and write, and learning to operate the simple voting machines. It is our responsibility to prepare ourselves to vote properly and not the responsibility of the governor or other officials -- except those directly in charge of conducting the elections.
Having the polls open for 12 hours on the regular Election Day is completely adequate to allow everyone a chance to vote. For those with a schedule problem, there's always the absentee voting available.
Regardless of whether we live in South Florida or another part of the state, the best thing we can do is to take our election jobs and our voting very seriously. Neither one is all that complicated. If each individual takes his or her job and voting seriously, the elections will go smoothly in the future.
Testing, testing . . .
After reading several newspaper articles concerning the recent voting problems in South Florida, I've noticed two things that can be done to fix the problem:
1. Replace the new machines with ones that require fewer poll workers. I've read that the machines in question in Miami-Dade and Broward counties were pushed by a lobbyist in Tallahassee. The machines have never been tested in large metropolitan cities, and they require a reset after each voter casts his or her vote. This creates a need for additional workers -- something computers should alleviate.
2. City, county and state workers, as well as National Guard members, should be asked to take a day from work to assist. They would be paid a certain amount and nothing would be counted against them within their regular jobs. This would create a group of trained government employees that would show up and be able to complete their jobs.
Looking back, the governor and former secretary of state should have followed Georgia's example and had a statewide test of all the machines before an actual election occurred. Too bad there was no statewide vision for planning for potential errors.
Schools as polling places
Let's have professional poll workers. Close the schools and use the schools as polling places. (School can be extended an extra day or two at the end of the year, and teachers could use the extra money they would earn by working the polls.) Some government employees could take a day away from their regular duties to staff the polls.
If the same people worked every year, we would eventually have a very experienced staff. At the very least, we could close the colleges and hire students to man the polls. You can't really expect to get intelligent and dependable poll workers when you are essentially recruiting from the ranks of the unemployed and offering only a few days of work.
A pickup game of softball or basketball may be fine, but our democracy deserves better.
Keep it simple
What can we do to improve the voting process in Florida to avoid the chaos of the Sept. 10 primary election and the debacle of the 2000 presidential race?
There are three areas needing a lot of improvement: Voter registration, poll staffing and technology.
Voter registration is atrocious Registration problems are invariably voter mistakes: incomplete addresses, name changes and address changes.
Weeks before every election, set up e-mail and phone hotlines so we can check our own registration status and where we're supposed to vote. On Election Day, segregate voter registration problems from qualified voters getting in and out.
Poll staffing is deplorable: Train election staff, and include mandatory dry runs setting up, operating, shutting down and putting away voting equipment.
If volunteers cannot attend training, stay home. Election Day isn't a social event for seniors. Work or go home.
At every poll, have at least one experienced person familiar with all computer equipment operating at the polls. Ensure one trained person at each poll is on duty all day who knows how to turn on, re-boot, turn off and replace any and all computers.
Technology cannot solve Florida's voting woes: Stick with the K.I.S.S. principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid. We don't need touch screens and fancy displays. People want something tangible to hold in their hands. Big pen, large type, clearly labeled political affiliations. And don't crowd too much on a single page. Voter registration, poll staffing, and simplicity are the solution.
Standardize
The voting process in Florida needs to be standardized:
1. Same machines in ALL counties that have capability to recount votes.
2. Laws giving elections supervisors "sole" authority within their counties need to be changed so they ALL operate under the same set of rules with NO exceptions.
3. Secretary of state and governor should have authority to appoint and fire all elections supervisors with recommendations from county boards.
4. Prior knowledge and experience of Florida election laws and procedures should be required before appointment.
5. ALL polling sites throughout the state should have the same hours of operation. If the different time zone in the Panhandle presents a problem, move Election Day to Saturday.
6. In an attempt to staff polling places with knowledgeable workers, require that all state, county and city offices allow employees a paid day off to work polls and receive training.
7. Set standard thorough training procedures.
8. Any poll worker who does not appear for duty will forfeit a day's pay from employment and will not receive pay from elections supervisor.
9. Require that all counties print -- free of charge -- the entire ballot and all polling locations in all local newspapers one week before election.