Voting machines aren't trustworthy

Sandy Wayland
Legislative Chair Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition
Posted April 8 2005

We are disappointed that the Miami-Dade County supervisor of elections is taking the full blame for the failure of an inherently flawed election system. The Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition in June called on Gov. Jeb Bush to order independent audits of Florida's voting systems to determine whether they are working properly, which would increase voter confidence, and that state officials are doing everything possible to protect the rights of voters. The response was that it was not our "goal ? to undermine voter confidence." The office of Secretary of State Glenda Hood followed with a statement that Florida has the most rigorous certification process in the country.

The proof of this flawed system has now been made clear with the supervisor's admission that these machines are capable of being programmed to erase votes. Supervisor Kaplan's statement that these "glitches" did not affect the outcome of the vote misses the point. Miami-Dade's voters deserve to vote on a system that is reliable and accurate. They should not be forced to settle for a problem-prone system that was obsolete before it was delivered.

With Dade Days just around the corner, the Miami-Dade delegation needs to turn a public relations nightmare into an opportunity to lead the state. The delegation must remind the state that we are not the only county with ES&S voting systems.

It also needs to demand that the governor, the secretary of state and, above all, the Florida Legislature, push forward a bill requiring a voter-verified paper record and routine auditing of the state's 67 election systems. The Legislature must enforce article 10 of the Voters Bill of Rights, which states that the voter has the right to "vote on a voting system that is in working condition and that will allow votes to be accurately cast."