Feeney: Florida gets it right on elections

By U.S. Rep Tom Feeney | Special to the Sentinel
Posted April 1, 2004

In the aftermath of the highly controversial 2000 presidential election, the Florida Legislature enacted election reforms that were heralded all over the country on a bipartisan basis as a national model. During the recent presidential-primary election, Florida proved to its voters and the nation that our state can indeed be proud of the way we conduct our elections. As anticipated by the state's elections office and each of the county elections supervisors, voting ran smoothly statewide.

Despite the few but vocal naysayers, who for partisan reasons are doing their best to portray the Sunshine State's voting technologies in a negative light, Florida has conducted a series of successful elections. With the exception of a few human-error problems, we experienced great success during the most recent election, and in 2002, when I along with hundreds of other politicians were elected on the very voting systems we are using today, without any equipment problems. I expect similar results, as well as increased voter participation and confidence, in August and November 2004.

In recent months, several lawsuits have been filed challenging the paperless electronic voting systems used by 15 Florida counties. I am disturbed that high-profile critics have spent so little time learning the facts from Florida's elections leaders. Instead, the progress our state has made in election reform is being ignored and has resulted in a waste of our state's valuable time and resources by undermining voter confidence. I'm confident a pending federal legal challenge will ultimately be met with the same fate as a previous destructive lawsuit, which was thrown out by a Palm Beach County judge.

These legal challenges are unnecessary and divisive. Florida is a national leader in election reform. Much of the credit goes to state legislators who helped position Florida to make the necessary changes in the state's voting processes and technologies. That commitment has paid off, despite the criticisms and insults from partisan leaders who are ill-informed and have made every attempt to derail voter confidence and undermine our entire elections process.

As time goes on, I expect that Florida will continue to improve its voting systems and processes particularly as technology continues to evolve. But the argument that printers should be attached to touch-screen voting machines in the counties that use them is unrealistic as of today. Such companion technology does not currently exist, and in all likelihood will not exist by the November election. However once it does, if it is the will of the people and their elected representatives, then standards for the paper trail must be set, machines must be made to those new standards and certified by states before they can be ordered and poll workers trained to use them. This is a process that will take time and evolve.

To suggest that we cannot have a credible and accurate election without printers is simply untrue. I applaud Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood and our 67 county elections officials who have worked tirelessly at their difficult task, well prepared for each election day. In addition, to promote voter confidence and participation, earlier this year they launched an ambitious statewide education campaign. Hood has also taken the wise step in providing regular briefings to Florida's Republican and Democratic party chairs, reinforcing the message that Florida's current elections systems have passed extensive scrutiny, testing and certification. Specifically, I am convinced that the touch-screen machines being used in 15 Florida counties are reliable and accurate and eliminate questions about voter intent.

I encourage the critics to abandon their obsession with undermining voter confidence in Florida. I invite them to join me in working with our elected officials to continue improving our elections processes. Instead of trading barbs and getting mired in legal challenges, let us get to the task at hand. By working together with a well-educated voting public and trained election workers, we can put Florida on the map as a model state with a proven track record of secure and trustworthy elections.