States, counties quarrel over election rules; deadline approaches

JOHN McCARTHY

Associated Press   18 March 2005

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Federal rules intended to improve voting have sparked repeated quarrels between states and counties over ballot counting and equipment as time runs out for compliance with the election law.

Some of the disputes have ended up in court as elections officials wrangle over deadlines, ballot receipts and who has authority to make decisions under the Help America Vote Act.

The law requires states to have federally approved voting systems and policies for counting provisional ballots in place by the first federal elections of 2006, which in Ohio is the May primary. States that fail to meet the deadline would have to return any unspent federal money they received for the efforts.

"Right now, we're sitting in the first quarter of the new year and there's not much time when you have a huge initiative," said Michael Vu, director of elections in Cuyahoga County, Ohio's largest with more than 1 million registered voters.

Disagreements over the federal rules have popped up around the country, including California, Florida and Pennsylvania. By January, states must take over supervision of voter databases, angering some local officials who do not want to give up control.

Local officials in California were upset last year when then-Secretary of State Kevin Shelley rescinded state certification of electronic voting machines because they could not provide receipts. Several counties tried to stop Shelley, but a judge would not hear the case, said Conny McCormack, registrar-recorder for Los Angeles County.

The county, which has 4 million registered voters, plans to upgrade its optical scan equipment to make it compliant with the new federal rules, McCormack said. Certification of electronic systems remains in doubt.

"Any election that's federal after January 2006 has to be HAVA-compliant. That's how much time we have left and yet there is no certified equipment," McCormack said.

Several state versus county arguments erupted in Ohio, a battleground in last year's presidential election and the state that returned President Bush to the White House in a close vote.

Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell's order barring county boards from accepting provisional ballots if voters were in the wrong precinct ended up in federal court and was upheld 10 days before the November election.

The backup ballots, which Ohio has had since 1994, are given to voters whose names don't show up at polling places and are counted later if the voter is registered.

Some county boards now are resisting Blackwell's directive to choose an optical scan voting system, instead of electronic. Three counties have challenged his authority in court, and the cases are pending.

"Ohio is now where California was last year, where the secretary of state is making directives that the locals think he shouldn't be making or maybe they just don't like," said Dan Seligson, editor of electionline.org, a nonpartisan election issues clearinghouse based in Washington. "What's happening in Ohio is what we see here in Washington all the time."

Electronic voting suits Carol Carper, a 56-year-old legal secretary from Columbus who thinks replacing the machines in Franklin County would waste taxpayer dollars.

"It's easy. You just go in there, punch what you want and you're done. And you know how your vote's being counted," Carper said.

Bruce Rayford, 56, doesn't care what type of machine he uses. Switching to optical scan equipment would be no big deal and voters should realize Blackwell is just doing his job, he said.

"It's just like anything else. You'd have to learn how to use it," said Rayford, a janitor from Columbus.

Blackwell did not return phone calls seeking comment.

He has said he is empowered to issue the directives under the federal rules, which leave many decisions up to a state's chief elections officer. Some of the county officials believe his orders - especially the one on provisional ballots - violate the spirit of rules that are designed to ensure every vote is counted.

Blackwell wants the new systems installed, at least in the 68 counties that still use punch cards, by this November's election.

"Is there concern about time? Yes. That concern about deployment schedules, supply lines with vendors is important," spokesman Carlo LoParo said.

Keith Cunningham, Allen County elections director and president of the Ohio Association of Elections Officials, doesn't have any argument with Blackwell's orders but is aware of the friction that has developed.

"The nature of all of this is we don't like being told what to do and the secretary has engaged in that practice within his jurisdiction and domain," Cunningham said.

In Ohio, statewide executive offices will be on the ballot in next year's primary, when new voting systems are to be in place. Blackwell is one of three Republicans seeking the GOP nomination for governor.

States feel that they, not counties, should have the upper hand in implementing the federal law, said Doug Lewis, executive director of the Election Center, which represents more than 1,000 state and local elections officials nationwide.

"It really gave the states considerably more authority than they traditionally had in this regard," he said.

"They're saying, 'If we're the ones who are going to get sued and we're the ones that are ultimately held accountable, ... then we want you to at least from the groups of systems we say are OK."