Election rules pose shortfall: Counties must pay the cost of specially equipped voting machines.
Orlando Sentinel. February 24, 2005. By Robert Perez, Sentinel Staff Writer

The fallout from Florida's 2000 election debacle took many forms, but one of the bright spots was the federal push to make sure all voters, including the disabled, could vote.

Under a federal mandate, special voting machines must be available by the end of this year in all U.S. polling places. In Florida, the state said it would foot the bill.

The only problem is state legislators didn't get the math right when figuring how much money to send to each county. That has local elections supervisors scrambling to come up with thousands of dollars to buy enough machines.

Last year, legislators set aside $11.6 million for 51 Florida counties to buy the federally required handicapped-accessible voting machines. The other 16 counties already have them.

The state allocation was based on the number of polling places in each county. That's where the problem is. State law requires at least one of the special machines in each precinct, and many polls have multiple precincts.

The hit on local elections supervisors: at least $1.4 million statewide.

"This is par for the course, another unfunded mandate," said Fred Galey, Brevard County's elections supervisor, who needs to find another $370,000 to cover the cost of buying at least 82 machines not funded by the state. "Of course, all the supervisors will end up doing what they have to do to comply with the law."

In Orange County, the problem is nowhere as severe. The county will have to pay for about 10 additional machines, but that is still a $45,000 hit.

The push for handicapped-accessible voting machines is part of the federal Help America Vote Act. Each machine must meet a long list of requirements that make voting accessible to people with disabilities, such as providing audio ballots for the blind. So far, only one machine a touch-screen built by Diebold Elections Systems has received certification from the state.

Seminole County's elections supervisor, Michael Ertel, was shorted more than $120,000 because the county has 99 polls but 126 precincts. He asked state officials earlier this week if the machines could be phased in over a couple of years. He is still waiting for an answer.

"This office did not budget for the overage," Ertel said. "But we're dealing with this as best we can."

State officials say Ertel and his counterparts are going to have to find a way to comply.

"The counties are going to have to make up the difference," said Jenny Nash, a spokeswoman for the Florida State Department.

One thing is clear: Counties that don't comply by the end of the year must give back what state money they got.

The shortfall is prompting elections supervisors to scour their budgets and look to their local county governments for help.

That's something Ann McFall is dreading. Volusia County's new elections supervisor said she is still trying to grasp the scope of the problem. It appears Volusia's allocation will leave it at least 24 machines short. McFall, a former County Council member, said she isn't looking forward to going before her former colleagues to ask for money.

"Standing at that podium is a lot scarier than sitting up on the dais," she said.

Emogene Stegall, Lake County's longtime elections supervisor, won't have that problem. Lake is one of the 16 counties that already have voting systems that comply with federal rules.

The state grants paid counties $4,515.38 for each polling location. While that is more than enough to pay for one of Diebold's $4,000 machines, it won't cover the cost of multiple machines that might be required at a single polling location.

For example, Polk County has one polling location in a sparsely populated area that combines four precincts, said Lori Edwards, elections supervisor. That means Edwards' office has to come up with $12,000 of its own money, just for the one polling location.

The problem is bigger than just the difference between polling locations and precincts. The state funding also didn't account for the need for additional machines.

Most elections supervisors have extra machines to handle early voting, public demonstrations and anticipated growth. Then there is always the need for back-up machines in case one or more break down on Election Day.

Most counties won't face a real test before next year, when the race for governor and other statewide offices will appear on ballots at all precincts. But Volusia County's reckoning day will be Oct. 11. That's the day 16 cities covering 136 precincts will vote in city races.

Robert Perez can be reached

at rperez@orlandosentinel.com