Lawmaker sues to add paper trail to Florida's new voting machines

JILL BARTON

Associated Press

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Florida's voting machines came under attack again Monday when a lawmaker sued state election supervisors because new ballot counters lack a paper trail needed for possible recounts.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler said voters need to be assured every vote is counted, particularly in close races where a manual recount is required by law.

"Why doesn't Gov. Bush simply say, "Let's improve our Florida election system even more than we've done so, provide for certainty and provide for security and in case something goes wrong, have a back up?'" Wexler said moments after filing the lawsuit in federal court. "Then all Floridians, Republicans and Democrats and Independents alike can have confidence in our system."

The Department of State notified elections supervisors last month that manual recounts don't have to include ballots from Florida's new touchscreen voting machines because there is no question about how voters intended to vote.

The computerized voting machines replaced the state's infamous punch card ballots, which produced the dimpled, hanging and pregnant chads at the heart of the 2000 presidential election controversy. The confusion over vote counting led to 36 days of recounts which ultimately awarded George W. Bush the presidency.

Hours before Florida voters head to the polls for the 2004 presidential primary, Wexler said the machines, which were expected to rid Florida of ballot controversies, have created new problems and violate the U.S. constitution because only some Florida counties can accurately conduct recounts.

Indian River County Supervisor of Elections Kay Clem, president of the Florida State Association of Elections Supervisors, said the paper receipts are unnecessary because the machines already can print out an audit at the end of an election day.

Klem said those who argue that the votes inside the machines can be ignored or changed through some malfunction or deliberate action are not considering the security measures already in place.

"Our machines don't have modems. They're not networked," Klem said. "Somebody would have to go into each polling place and go from machine to machine and tamper with them while the polling workers are there."

Since Florida replaced its old voting system with the new touchscreen voting machines, ballot printers have been embraced most enthusiastically by Democrats and groups still angry about 2000.

Officials hoped to avoid the problems of the last presidential election, when some voters claimed they weren't allowed to cast ballots because they were mistaken for convicted felons, were omitted from voter rolls, didn't provide identification even though it wasn't necessary or didn't understand English.

Other voters, notably in Wexler's home county of Palm Beach, said a confusing ballot design, dubbed the butterfly ballot, led them to vote for the wrong candidate.

Although the new voting machines solved many concerns, new questions arose about whether they could be trusted to tally votes without a paper record of results. Critics say the machines are susceptible to errors and fraud and that a paper trail is needed in case a re-count is required.

"We need everything and anything that will make people feel comfortable that their votes will be counted," said Palm Beach Commissioner Addie Greene. "I don't think the public has much confidence in the system the way it is now."

Palm Beach elections supervisor Theresa LePore said the punch card machines also did not allow for a paper receipt where voters could double-check their ballots. Although she believes the printers are unnecessary, she said that if the voters and state Legislature approve them, "so be it."

LePore, Klem, and Secretary of State Glenda Hood are named in the suit.

A spokeswoman for Hood declined to comment on the lawsuit but said Hood is "very comfortable with the equipment we have in place and very confident it will produce accurate results."