Ron
2004-08-28 04:29:25 UTC
Florida Judge Rules on Manual Vote Recounts
By DAVID ROYSE, Associated Press Writer
Friday, August 27, 2004
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=548&u=/ap/20040828/ap_on_el_ge/florida_voting&printer=1
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A state rule barring the 15 Florida counties with touchscreen voting
from conducting manual recounts is at odds with state law, which requires hand recounts in
some close elections, a judge ruled Friday.
A coalition including government watchdogs and other interest groups sued the state,
arguing the law requires provisions for hand recounts in every county, no matter what
voting technology is used.
Administrative Law Judge Susan Kirkland agreed, writing that state law clearly
contemplates "that manual recounts will be done on each certified voting system, including
the touchscreen voting systems."
With a primary election Tuesday and more than half the state's voters in counties that use
touchscreens, it is not clear what those counties will do.
Secretary of State Glenda Hood, who issued the ruling preventing manual recounts in
touchscreen counties in April, was considering appealing Friday's decision, a spokeswoman
said. An appeal would keep Hood's rule in place.
Elections supervisors in some of the 15 counties with touchscreens had asked the state
what they should do about a law requiring manual recounts when elections are particularly
close, because the machines the counties use are not programmed to create a paper record
of each vote.
The Division of Elections issued the rule in April saying that because touchscreens do not
let people vote for the same candidate twice or unintentionally fail to vote in a
particular race, there was no reason for touchscreen counties to conduct hand recounts.
"The touchscreen machines were put in place to avoid the problems that were encountered in
the 2000 election," said Jenny Nash, a spokeswoman for Hood who criticized Friday's
ruling. "This ruling is a step backward to that time."
Florida's voting system has been under scrutiny since 2000, when it took five weeks of
legal maneuvering and some recounting before Republican George W. Bush was declared
president over Democrat Al Gore (news - web sites).
In her ruling, Kirkland said the statute clearly requires manual recounts "when the margin
of victory is one-quarter of a percent or less or when there is a proper and timely
request for a manual recount."
Kurt Browning (news - web sites), the elections supervisor in Pasco County, which has
touchscreens, said his county had no plan for recounting by hand, and said there was no
practical way to do so.
But Vicki Cannon, the supervisor of elections in rural Nassau County, north of
Jacksonville, said she could do a hand recount of touchscreen votes if the election were
close enough to require it.
"Certainly we could if the state directed us to," Cannon said. "I would assume that we
would print our ballot records, and count the candidates' names. Time consuming, maybe.
Difficult? I don't think so."
Officials in larger counties agreed a recount would take time.
"It's not something that would just happen in a day ... at least a week." said Gisela
Salas, deputy elections supervisor in Broward County, which has the most voters in the
state.
Also Friday, a Maryland judge said he would decide next week whether the state must take
additional steps to ensure that Maryland's touchscreen voting machines will provide an
accurate vote count in November.
By DAVID ROYSE, Associated Press Writer
Friday, August 27, 2004
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=548&u=/ap/20040828/ap_on_el_ge/florida_voting&printer=1
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A state rule barring the 15 Florida counties with touchscreen voting
from conducting manual recounts is at odds with state law, which requires hand recounts in
some close elections, a judge ruled Friday.
A coalition including government watchdogs and other interest groups sued the state,
arguing the law requires provisions for hand recounts in every county, no matter what
voting technology is used.
Administrative Law Judge Susan Kirkland agreed, writing that state law clearly
contemplates "that manual recounts will be done on each certified voting system, including
the touchscreen voting systems."
With a primary election Tuesday and more than half the state's voters in counties that use
touchscreens, it is not clear what those counties will do.
Secretary of State Glenda Hood, who issued the ruling preventing manual recounts in
touchscreen counties in April, was considering appealing Friday's decision, a spokeswoman
said. An appeal would keep Hood's rule in place.
Elections supervisors in some of the 15 counties with touchscreens had asked the state
what they should do about a law requiring manual recounts when elections are particularly
close, because the machines the counties use are not programmed to create a paper record
of each vote.
The Division of Elections issued the rule in April saying that because touchscreens do not
let people vote for the same candidate twice or unintentionally fail to vote in a
particular race, there was no reason for touchscreen counties to conduct hand recounts.
"The touchscreen machines were put in place to avoid the problems that were encountered in
the 2000 election," said Jenny Nash, a spokeswoman for Hood who criticized Friday's
ruling. "This ruling is a step backward to that time."
Florida's voting system has been under scrutiny since 2000, when it took five weeks of
legal maneuvering and some recounting before Republican George W. Bush was declared
president over Democrat Al Gore (news - web sites).
In her ruling, Kirkland said the statute clearly requires manual recounts "when the margin
of victory is one-quarter of a percent or less or when there is a proper and timely
request for a manual recount."
Kurt Browning (news - web sites), the elections supervisor in Pasco County, which has
touchscreens, said his county had no plan for recounting by hand, and said there was no
practical way to do so.
But Vicki Cannon, the supervisor of elections in rural Nassau County, north of
Jacksonville, said she could do a hand recount of touchscreen votes if the election were
close enough to require it.
"Certainly we could if the state directed us to," Cannon said. "I would assume that we
would print our ballot records, and count the candidates' names. Time consuming, maybe.
Difficult? I don't think so."
Officials in larger counties agreed a recount would take time.
"It's not something that would just happen in a day ... at least a week." said Gisela
Salas, deputy elections supervisor in Broward County, which has the most voters in the
state.
Also Friday, a Maryland judge said he would decide next week whether the state must take
additional steps to ensure that Maryland's touchscreen voting machines will provide an
accurate vote count in November.