Observers try to prevent repeat of Florida controversy

Dan Glaister in Los Angeles
Friday September 24, 2004
The Guardian (UK)

A team of international monitors is spending this week in five key states across the US observing preparations for the November vote.

The team of 20 intends to focus on three issues that have arisen in the wake of the controversial Florida vote in the 2000 election: concerns that some eligible voters are excluded from registering or voting, doubts over the security of voting electronically and worries about campaign financing.

The observers, from Europe, Latin America, Australia, India and the Phillipines, will publish a report at the end of their stay identifying their concerns. A second, smaller team will return at the end of October to monitor the vote.

This week, monitors are in Florida, Missouri, Georgia, Arizona and Ohio, having spent the first five days of their stay meeting election officials in Washington DC.

"Perhaps the most important thing is that, for the first time, the election process in the US has been questioned, not just after the Florida fiasco," said one observer, Oscar Gonzalez, a former diplomat and ex-president of Mexico's Human Rights Academy. "It is the beginning of a wave of reform."

Mr Gonzalez, with observers from Ghana, Australia and Chile, are spending this week in Arizona, investigating campaign finance reform, the political rights of the largest Native American tribe, the Navajo, and meeting Mormon and student groups as well as election officials.

Georgia has been chosen because it is one of only two states where all voting will be electronic. There are concerns about whether the machines can withstand fraud and the lack of a paper audit.
Missouri experienced problems in 2000 that were similar to those in Florida, where former prisoners and African Americans were excluded from voting lists. Ohio has been chosen because it is one of the closest swing states in the election.

The team has been assembled by Global Exchange, a non-governmental organisation which has observed elections in 10 countries.

Ted Lewis, director of the fair elections project, said in a statement: "The presence of independent non-governmental observers can help boost public confidence in electoral processes. Our friends from around the world can help us enliven discussions about what it takes to keep a democracy vital and they are coming here to help us at a time when mistrust and polarisation are eroding our national dialogue."