Federal judge: Provisional ballots in wrong precinct don't count

Associated Press  21 October 2004

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Rejecting a claim by Democrats, a federal judge ruled Thursday that if voters cast provisional ballots in the wrong precinct the state doesn't have an obligation to count them.

U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle ruled that people who show up at the wrong polling place and aren't on the rolls should be allowed to submit a provisional ballot, in case it is determined they're at the right place. But he ruled that federal law doesn't require the state to count it if it was cast in the wrong precinct.

Under federal and Florida law, if a voter shows up at a polling place but officials have no record of them being registered, they are given a provisional ballot. That ballot is then held until officials determine if the person was entitled to vote at that precinct and hasn't already voted.

If they should have been allowed to vote, the ballot counts; if not, it's thrown out.

The Democratic Party had asserted that prospective voters have a right to have their ballot counted whether they're at the proper polling place or not.

Hinkle's ruling is in line with one handed down earlier this week by the state Supreme Court in a nearly identical lawsuit filed by labor unions. But it differs with rulings in other federal courts.

Federal judges in Michigan and Ohio have ruled in recent days have allowed for counting of provisional ballots cast in the wrong precinct.