Elections Establishment still missing message

Palm Beach Post Editorial
Wednesday, June 16, 2004

The hope was that last week's conference of elections supervisors in Key West would show that the state has corrected all the problems that created the 2000 fiasco. Instead, the meeting raised more concerns and more issues.

While supervisors promised to independently verify criminal records of 47,000 voters the state has declared ineligible because of felony convictions, they approved no uniform method of verification. Each supervisor is supposed to check the list in his or her own way, and there are 67 theories on how to proceed. Most said, correctly, that they would not purge voters without checking records. Many minimized the problem of eligibility disputes on Election Day because of the new provisional-ballot law that permits voters to cast paper ballots that local canvassing boards can certify. While provisional ballots will help, several supervisors already have uncovered discrepancies, and the checking has just begun.

Making the felons list public would help expose potential problems early and restore a little confidence. But elections officials have refused, and Secretary of State Glenda Hood wants to spend $125,000 in public money on private attorneys to fight a lawsuit seeking the records' release. State officials told supervisors that a call center and Web site will help verify the list. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has set up a toll-free number. But with thousands of discrepancies possible, how effective can phone calls be?

The legal dispute over the felons list began with a May 5 memo from Division of Elections Director Ed Kast that claimed the names were part of the voter rolls, and therefore were available only for limited public viewing. Mr. Kast abruptly resigned last week, as state officials conceded that touch-screen machines in 11 counties have a software flaw that could make manual recounts impossible. Among the counties using the machines, made by Election Systems & Software, are Martin, Broward and Miami-Dade. This week, U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Delray Beach, called on Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist to investigate whether Mr. Kast lied under oath when asked whether he knew of the problem. Mr. Crist, who is a Republican, declined. How and when the flaw will be corrected remain open questions.

Undercurrents of the denial that made 2000 possible were evident in Key West. Lafayette County Supervisor Lana Morgan said a prayer that the media would report the proceedings fairly. A better prayer would have been that supervisors accept accountability and do their jobs competently. Supervisors still are worried more about their convenience than voters'. One idea they discussed was creation of super-sized precincts to consolidate resources and reduce administrative headaches. Voters, though, would have to travel farther to new, larger sites. When supervisors were touting touch screens, selling points included portability and ubiquitous potential. Now officials want voters many of whom are elderly or new citizens to go the extra mile to find the machines that were supposed to make voting easy.

None of this inspires confidence. Floridians must hope that this is only a disappointment, not a premonition.