Appeals court hears Wexler vote case

By Jeremy Milarsky
Staff Writer
Posted July 2 2004

WEST PALM BEACH · If a U.S. congressman has no right to challenge the election process in 15 of Florida's 67 counties, then no one does, an attorney for Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, said in an appellate court hearing Thursday.

Wexler, who recently won another term because of a lack of opposition, sued Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood and Palm Beach County Elections Supervisor Theresa LePore in an effort to force the officials to equip the state's touch-screen voting machines with printers that produce paper receipts.

Wexler thinks paper receipts will provide more accountability to voters. The relatively new touch-screen technology is being used in 15 Florida counties, including Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade.

No ruling was made Thursday, but judges said they would issue one soon.

Thursday's hearing was called so Wexler's attorney, Jeff Liggio, could try to persuade the 4th District Court of Appeal to reverse a February ruling by Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Karen Miller dismissing Wexler's case.

Miller ruled Wexler had no standing to bring his case in Palm Beach County.

"If my voter, my candidate, my client does not have standing under this order, nobody does," Liggio told the three-judge panel. "And that's frightening."

George Waas, an attorney representing Hood, said Wexler must prove he is somehow harmed by the fact that voting machines have no printers.

Although both attorneys said Wexler's right to sue the state government was the most critical question for the panel, the two sides also sparred over whether the case had any merit.

Waas argued that a printed receipt would not give government officials any clue as to whether the voter cast their ballot correctly. Therefore, compelling the state to install printers on its machines would be "absurd," he said.

Wexler filed his suit shortly after a special election in January, in which state Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff won her seat in Florida House District 91 by 12 votes. More than 130 undervotes were cast in that election.