Touch-Screen Security Criticized

By TED BYRD

TAMPA - Hillsborough County Commissioner Pat Frank challenged the security of the county's touch-screen voting Wednesday, one day after Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson defended it while launching a voter registration drive.

Frank has warned for months that the new touch- screen computer systems may be open to voter fraud or election theft. But her timing was noteworthy in bringing up the issue with fellow commissioners Wednesday.

Not only did it follow Johnson's announcement, but it also followed recent talk that she may run for his job this year.

Frank, who has two years remaining in her countywide commission seat, also has been mentioned as a potential candidate for circuit court clerk. Her response to such speculation is that she's just weighing options.

Johnson and his predecessor as elections chief, Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, say the new systems are nearly foolproof.

Frank is unconvinced, citing a study by Rice and Johns Hopkins universities and editorial commentary in The New York Times.

``With all respect to Buddy Johnson, there remain serious questions,'' she said.

Frank wants the county's $13 million touch-screen system upgraded, at a cost of $3 million to $4 million, so the machines leave a paper trail.

Johnson, a Plant City Republican, was appointed in January 2003 after Iorio resigned to run for mayor. He is a former legislator known for his conservative beliefs and successful restaurants.

A matchup with Frank, a Tampa Democrat and former legislator known for social liberalism but fiscal conservatism, could do more than offer voters a political choice. It could become, essentially, a referendum on the new voting technology.

``It would be an interesting way to test the issue,'' Frank said.

Reporter Ted Byrd can be reached at (813) 259-7679.