State to be put to the test. Can Florida get it right this time?

RACHEL LA CORTE

Associated Press   16 October 2004

MIAMI - When Florida's voters go to the polls Nov. 2, they will be greeted by more than just poll workers.

A bevy of observers from international organizations, civil-rights groups and the major political parties will be watching to see whether elections will run smoothly in the state where problems exploded four years ago and held the outcome of the presidential race in limbo for weeks.

The tight race between President Bush and Democrat John Kerry this year has rekindled memories of the 2000 recount fiasco involving poorly marked ballots. But some observers are worried that hanging and dimpled chads, the highlight of the 2000 problems, could pale in comparison this year.

Questions remain about the reliability of new paperless voting machines and how to verify the accuracy of votes cast on them if a manual recount is needed. Lawyers are wrangling over electronic voting, provisional ballots, voter registrations and other issues even before the polls open.

Add investigations into possible voter fraud and intimidation, glitches that have raised concerns about the system and voters' suspicions that they could be disenfranchised and Florida elections officials have their work cut out for them.

"With a month to go, there are too many unresolved issues to feel confident whether Florida's election system is ready for prime-time," said Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.

Secretary of State Glenda Hood insists the state is ready for the test. Thousands of poll workers have been trained, voting machines have been tested without any major hiccups and early voting at several polling places is set to begin.

"I believe the supervisors of elections will deliver a successful election," she said. "That's everybody's goal."

But whether the electronic machines work or not isn't the only issue. Decisions by elections officials that voids voter registrations for some people with improperly filled out forms and a law that disqualifies provisional ballots cast outside a voter's home precinct are also causing consternation - and lawsuits.

Democrats are arming up for a possible battle after the Nov. 2 vote. They have trained more than 10,000 lawyers for action, if needed, in Florida and other swing states. In addition to monitoring various precincts, they will be prepared to go to court to challenge the outcome if they find evidence of irregularities.

"We will be manning every single polling booth in the state of Florida on Election Day," said Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

In a recent Washington Post opinion piece, former President Jimmy Carter questioned whether the state could hold a fair election, and wrote that a repetition of the problems of 2000 appeared likely - specifically voters uncertain whether their votes were tabulated accurately.

Carter expressed concern over the lack of a uniform voting system in the state, saying that all voters should "have equal assurance that their votes are cast in the same way and will be tabulated with equal accuracy."

Gov. Jeb Bush has said the criticism of the state's voting machines is "nonsense" and referred to them as "conspiracy theories."

After a relatively problem-free primary on Aug. 31, Election Day will be the final test of whether the state has recovered from the 2000 presidential election - when the infamous punch-card ballots led to 36 days of recounts that resulted in Bush's brother winning the White House by a slim 537-vote margin.

"I think it's entirely possible some other state may be in the spotlight," Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at the University of Central Florida. It all comes down to whether we end up with a close election. The tighter it is, the brighter the spotlight."

ATM-style touch-screen machines are now used in 15 counties, and were the answer to the problems of voter intent and hanging chads that was the fallout of the 2000 election. More than half of Florida's 9.8 million registered voters will be eligible to use them on Nov. 2. Other Florida counties use optical scanner machines, where voters use pencils to mark ballots that are then counted by computers.

Concerns about the touch-screen machines first arose during the 2002 gubernatorial race when some poll workers had problems operating them. There also have been other software glitches that officials say have been corrected.

Nevertheless, critics point to potential for more glitches or operator errors on the machines, such as in Hillsborough County, where a total of 245 electronic ballots weren't counted until more than two weeks after the 2004 August primary because a staffer incorrectly set up the machine.

And some voters are concerned about whether their vote will count on Election Day and the potential for chaos because of all the simmering problems.

Misha Hernandez, who recently moved to Hialeah from Oregon, said she was so worried about the voting machines that she briefly considered voting by absentee in her home state to "be sure my vote would get counted." She ultimately registered in Florida, but said that the fact "there is no paper trail is a worry."

U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla., is pursuing a lawsuit to require a paper record for touch-screen machines in case a manual recount is needed. His lawyer has acknowledged it's probably too late to get printed receipts with the election just weeks away.

Concerns about the lack of printed receipts were heightened when Hood told elections supervisors that manual recounts of touch-screen votes weren't required because she said they leave no questions about voters' intent. A judge overturned that rule.

Despite all the attention to whether the electronic voting will go smoothly, voters in Florida have other problems to worry about. Lawsuits are proceeding to ensure that every vote counts - but with the election near some state election officials worry that new requirements by the courts could lead to chaos.

Democrats and voter advocates are trying to overturn a provision in state law that requires provisional ballots from voters who can't prove they are registered be cast in their assigned precincts to be counted. Another suit seeks to block elections officials from disqualifying voters who failed to check a box confirming they're U.S. citizens, even if they signed an oath on the same form swearing they are.

The series of hurricanes that swept through Florida this season also threatens to cause some confusion and test the voting system.

In Indian River County, affected by two back-to-back hurricanes, Supervisor of Elections Kay Clem lost use of 11 of her 48 polling places.

Hoping to alleviate controversy over the elections, the United States invited the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to send observers. Fair Election International, a human rights group, is already looking into election controversies and plans to monitor the voting.

Hood said she welcomed international monitors, and disputed that their presence would convey lack of confidence in the system.

"After 2000, there's obviously going to be a lot of scrutiny and a lot of looking at this election cycle," she said.