18 new voting machines go missing in Broward

Sun -Sentinal ^ | 10/17/02 | Buddy Nevins and Scott Wyman

[FlaFreedom]

18 new voting machines go missing in Broward

By Buddy Nevins and Scott Wyman Staff Writers Posted October 17 2002

The Broward County elections office is missing 18 new touch-screen voting machines worth $3,000 each because of poor record-keeping before the flawed Sept. 10 primary, the new elections chief said on Wednesday.

"We don't know where they are. I don't think anyone does at this point," said Joseph Cotter, who was hired to fix the problems highlighted by the chaotic primary.

The missing machines were not used in the election. They were part of Elections Supervisor Miriam Oliphant's outreach program and presumably were used to educate voters on how to cast ballots on the ATM-like devices.

But Oliphant had no system to track the machines, Cotter said.

"This is very serious," Cotter said. "This is $54,000 in taxpayers' money that we can't find. ... No records, or very inadequate records, were apparently maintained of who took the machines from the warehouse and where they were going."

County commissioners, already reeling from the elections office's budget deficit and the missteps surrounding the primary, were disturbed to hear about the latest problem. They paid $17.2 million for the machinery last winter to replace the old punch-card ballots and said they would hold Oliphant accountable for the lost equipment.

"Every day there is another surprise," Commissioner Kristin Jacobs said. "I just look forward for this election to be over so we can regroup and start fresh. This is absolutely numbing by now. It's unbelievable that there were no systems in place to track where the machines were."

Cotter predicted the machines would be found "in somebody's trunk or someplace's closet."

The touch-screen machines were handled more loosely than the booths used for the old punch-card ballots. Cotter said he could not remember losing one of the booths in the two decades he worked for Oliphant's predecessor, Jane Carroll.

The machines will be tracked more carefully in the Nov. 5 general election, Cotter said. County workers will pick them up immediately after polls close and deliver them to the election warehouse.

Officials for the county and Election Systems & Software, the machines' manufacturer, said the machines would be of little value to anyone who finds them.

Each machine consists mainly of the touch screen and three small hard drives used to store votes. Most of the technology involved is kept on separate hand-held activation devices.

Because their value is largely limited to voting, Cotter thinks the machines have been misplaced.

"This simply appears to be adequate asset controls not being in place," he said.

Officials doubt the lost machines will have any effect on the November election. The county bought 5,040 machines. In addition, ES&S loaned 250 more for training and will have another 320 on standby on Election Day.

Cotter ordered an inventory of the machines, using their bar codes, shortly after he was hired.

The inventory released on Wednesday found that Oliphant's office kept spotty records of what events the consultants visited or how many machines they used. Cotter said he has assigned a staff member to identify the places where outreach programs took place and contact them to see if the machines are there.

Oliphant's office faced criticism even before the audit for its nonchalant treatment of the machines. Four days before the election, a maitre d' driving to work found three of them lying in the middle of Prospect Road.

Dozens of machines were left at polling places -- in clubhouses, churches, schools and community halls -- long after the election. Oliphant's staffers said they weren't concerned even as people were calling the office to ask why the equipment was still around two weeks after the election.

The last machines left at polling places were recovered in late September. Five were discovered at a fire station at Oakland Park Boulevard and the Intracoastal.

As for machines used for voter outreach, two were left at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel until the paper informed the elections office three weeks ago.

The outreach program, paid for in part by a $603,429 state grant, also has been controversial. Oliphant has been criticized for using it to give thousands of dollars in public money to her political allies.

Outside consultants, many of them friends of Oliphant, were hired to demonstrate the machines to civic clubs and condominium groups, and at fairs and other public events.

Commissioners said they want the elections office to pay for the missing machines or find some other way to recoup the cost through insurance claims.

"It's very sloppy management," Commissioner Suzanne Gunzburger said. "This is taxpayer dollars being wasted, and I'm just appalled."

Buddy Nevins can be reached at bnevins@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4571.

Copyright © 2002, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

[Seeking the truth]

Joe, I was about to comment that I remember the last election that the same number - 18 - of machines was also lost in Broward, then I looked at the date of the thread after reading some posts that referred to Miriam Oliphnant & McBride....lol

[stocksthatgoup]

They no doubt will hook em up and send in the results to the elections commission. FRAUD ALERT

[rolling_stone]

The machines will be tracked more carefully in the Nov. 5 general election, Cotter said. County workers will pick them up immediately after polls close and deliver them to the election warehouse.


What about November 2?

[Muzzle_em]

Do they do ANYTHING right in that county?
What a bunch of freakin "Maroons!"

[Muzzle_em]

I'm SURE these machines will suddenly show up next week and they will just "plug them in" and start using them without any inspection, testing or ANYTHING!!!!

[sasafras]

Damn just damn - when are we going to get serious about our elections. Democrats are stealling it from under our feet.

[foreverfree]

bump

[MeekOneGOP]

S'okay! :^D

To ALL Freepers and Lurker voters:

GO to the polls and vote for Bush. Take your friends with you to do the same. If you know any Zell Miller type Democrats that support Bush and they are voting for him, take them as well.

Vote EARLY to avoid the rush. If you wait until November 2nd, make SURE to go and vote!! And if you do wait until November 2nd, remember:

IGNORE ANYTHING IN THE MEDIA YOU HEAR (i.e., making a fast, early call in Florida for Kerry, etc.). WE CAN AVOID A REPEAT OF THE FLORIDA ELECTION DEBACLE OF 2000 THIS YEAR IF GOP TURNOUT IS STRONG, imho.

[Expletive deleted] !!!

[Robert A Cook PE]

It's not clear from the story, but I understand Oliphant DID get fired over these screwups/incompetance in the FL primary.

Right?

[ridesthemiles]

Broward shows its mettle one more time....""

My bigger worry is that someone has them and is using them already to send in votes that are frauds.

18 machines could do alot of damage.........

[Legion04]

EVERYONE responsible for these machines should be FIRED.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Yes.

Way too easy enough for a good (inside) operator to fake the electronic votes, then destroy the internal (programmed) evidence.

Method.

Motive.

Opportunity.

Add one more:

Concealment: The MSM REFUSES to aknowledge or report democrat vote fraud.

[js1138]

What item of information is missing from this story?

[TaxRelief]

Oh! You pinged everyone, whoops. No bum steer intended. This was a reminder.

*When* these machines disappeared is not the point. If they are still out there, every precinct across America that uses them, has a problem.

How can they be used? They can be swapped out for matching machines. Erased machines are then swapped for other machines and so on...

Every precinct needs a poll watcher who will follow the machines to a locked vault.

[js1138]

Oliphant DID get fired over these screwups/incompetance in the FL primary. Right?

Someone did. I think she was the one. Jeb had the guts to fire a democrat and replace her with a Republican.

[TaxRelief]

Did they ever FIND these machines?

[the_rightside]

I wouldn't trust the sis'ta as far as I could throw her.

[Not A Snowbird]

Broward needs to clean house. Fire everyone and start over.

[freestyle]

[usmom]

They need to do that in Milwaukee, too. Just this morning the election commission struck down Republican lawyers who challenged over 5,000 fake and non-existent addresses on new registrations. They even went around photographing the addresses that turned out to be gyro stands and empty lots. Just struck them down and said there wasn't enough evidence and all 5,000 bogus registrations stand. Unbelievable! Kerry WILL steal this election. I don't care what the polls say, the dems will come up with enough in fraud.