Federal court orders trial in Florida e-ballot lawsuit

Associated Press  27 September 2004

ATLANTA - A federal appeals court on Monday revived a lawsuit seeking a paper trail for that state's new touchscreen voting machines with only five weeks left before the presidential election.

The court told the lower court judge to reopen the case affecting the 15 Florida counties that use voting machines that don't create paper copies.

Three judges from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote that the federal judge improperly decided not get involved in the lawsuit filed by U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, a South Florida congressman.

"We vacate that decision and remand for a consideration of the merits," the unsigned ruling reads.

A state appeals court ruled last month that a paper trail of ballots was not required, ruling that voters are not guaranteed "a perfect voting system."

Wexler had argued that the paperless voting system makes manual recounts impossible. He sued state elections officials, arguing that constitutional promises of equal protection would be violated by a voting system that varies from county to county in Florida.

"This is a huge win," Wexler spokeswoman Lale Mamaux said from his Washington office.