Florida GOP: Abandon ship

[Beet]

Fla. GOP Advises Some to Vote Absentee

Fri Jul 30, 1:33 AM ET  Add Elections - AP to My Yahoo!
 
By BRENT KALLESTAD, Associated Press Writer


TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Republican Gov. Jeb Bush has tried for months to persuade Florida voters touchscreen voting machines are reliable. His own party apparently hasn't gotten the message.


The state GOP paid for a flier critical of the new technology and sent it to some south Florida voters where a primary election is scheduled next month.


"The new electronic voting machines do not have a paper ballot to verify your vote in case of a recount," the message states. "Make sure your vote counts. Order your absentee ballot today."


That's what Democrats and a coalition of civil rights groups have been saying in legal challenges, trying to force the state to provide a paper trail in case the touchscreen machines malfunction.


"It is insulting that the leadership's own party would believe that the system is broke," said Sharon Lettman Pacheco, spokeswoman for People for the American Way.


The machines are being used in 15 of the state's largest counties.


The governor, unaware of the mailing beforehand, wasn't happy.


"I think he was disappointed that there would be any message that's out there that criticizes these machines," Bush spokeswoman Jill Bratina said.


Neither was President Bush (news - web sites), whose picture was featured on the GOP flier. "We did not authorize the use of the president's image," said campaign spokesman Reed Dickens. "It was inappropriate. I speak for the president and it does not represent the views of the president."


Earlier this week, state election officials reported that a computer crash erased detailed records from Miami-Dade County's first widespread use of the touchscreen machines in the 2002 gubernatorial primaries and other elections.

Florida's voting system has been under scrutiny since 2000, when it took five weeks of legal maneuvering and some recounting before Republican George W. Bush was declared president over Democrat Al Gore (news - web sites).

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040730/ap_on_el_ge/touchscreen_voting&e=1

[Beet]

The problem is, the inability to recount violates Florida law. Now Florida election officials just don't seem to care. They want to defend the electronic paperless voting at all costs. They don't even want to see it come to trial-- they're asking the judge to dismiss before argument are even heard in court. So what are they going to do? Change the law now?

Here's a story documenting some undervotes using electronic machines---

Election 2004

Groups argue need to recount votes made on machines
Touch screens don't let voters select multiple candidates in a race, so a manual recount wouldn't be necessary, the state counters.
By ALISA ULFERTS, Times Staff Writer
Published July 28, 2004

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


TALLAHASSEE - State elections officials don't have the authority to ban manual recounts when touch screen voting machines are used, voters' rights groups told a judge Tuesday.

Without a manual recount in close elections, 15 Florida counties with touch screen machines can't be sure the votes were counted, attorneys argued for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Common Cause of Florida and other groups.

The groups are challenging a rule state officials wrote this year prohibiting manual recounts with touch screen machines. Because the machines do not use paper ballots, nothing can be manually recounted, officials concluded.

But the ACLU and other groups say the rule violates a state law requiring manual recounts when the margin of victory is less than one-fourth of 1 percent. The law also allows a candidate to request a manual recount when the margin is less than one-half of 1 percent.

About half the state's registered voters will use touch screen machines, including those in Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties.

The state argued Tuesday that manual recounts are needed only to determine intent when a voter selects multiple candidates for a single race or the ballot was rejected by tabulating equipment. Touch screen machines don't allow voters to select more than one candidate in a race, and they prompt voters to double check when no vote is cast, said George Waas, special counsel for Attorney General Charlie Crist.

So voter intent is not in question, and there is nothing to count, Waas argued.

The voter groups say the state ignores the fact that machines can malfunction and are susceptible to tampering. During a special election in South Florida this year, some ballots were cast with no votes, even though only one office was on the ballot.

Such so-called undervotes prompted U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson last week to call for an audit of touch screen machines. Elections officials, however, say undervotes are not unique to touch screen machines, though studies show they are more common.

"Discerning the intent of the voter is not the only reason to conduct a recount," said Howard Simon, director of ACLU of Florida. "Another reason is to ensure the accountability and reliability of the machine."

But the state says the machines present a dilemma state law did not anticipate: no paper trail. The voter coalition says the state should find a way to manually recount the electronic ballots, even if it means trying to duplicate the totals each machine reports.

Waas also asked Judge Susan B. Kirkland to dismiss the case because the rule hasn't wronged the plaintiffs.