NYT: Florida Moves to End Touchscreen Voting

DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Feb. 1 — Gov. Charlie Crist today announced plans today to abandon the touch-screen voting machines that many of Florida’s largest counties installed after the disputed 2000 presidential election, instead adopting a statewide system of casting paper ballots counted by scanning machines.

Voting experts said Florida’s move, coupled with new federal voting legislation expected this year, could largely signal the death knell for the paperless electronic machines. If as expected the Florida Legislature approves the $32 million cost of the change, in fact, it will be the nation’s biggest repudiation yet of touch-screen voting, which was widely adopted after the 2000 recount as a state-of-the-art means of restoring confidence that everyone’s vote would count.

Several counties around the country, including Cuyahoga in Ohio and Sarasota in Florida, have exchanged touch-screen machines for others that provide a paper trail. But Florida could become the first state that invested heavily in recent rush to touch screens to reject them so sweepingly.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/01/us/01cnd-voting.html?hp&ex=1170392400&en=ef9e9773e1e66b0f&ei=5094&partner=homepage

It's about time..

Hopefully he'll keep up the good job. If he does, I would vote for him next time.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1776618/posts

To: driftdiver

The electronics make it far easier to commit more massive vote fraud with much less risk of detection.

8 posted on 01/31/2007 3:44:41 AM PST by lifelong_republican (Valid Elections: The Idea of America)
< Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies | Report Abuse >


To: lifelong_republican
Exactly. Electronic voting is how Hillary becomes our next president. And maybe our last.
11 posted on 01/31/2007 4:02:00 AM PST by Iwo Jima ("Close the border. Then we'll talk.")
< Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies | Report Abuse >


To: DustyMoment
No, I followed that very closely. You may have been physically closer to the scene, but I was using my brain. You apparently bought into the whole "butterfly ballot" farce. It was just a big scam to make people doubt paper ballots and insist on the supposed "security" of electronic voting.

Electronic voting is how Hillary will become president. And gullible people like you are her enablers.
15 posted on 01/31/2007 4:26:07 AM PST by Iwo Jima ("Close the border. Then we'll talk.")
< Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies | Report Abuse >


...Didn't they accuse us of being conspiracy theorists over this issue just a few months ago?:rofl:

Someone needs to go undercover and ask these Morans how they will feel when HILLARY has the "Unitary Executive" powers that Shrub is pushing for?? How will they feel when HILLARY can spy on their every phone call, snail mail, email and internet browsing - without a warrant for cause - like their beloved SHRUB thinks he can? Ask then how they feel about Hillary having the power to grab them off the street and throw them in prison without charges and without due process,like their beloved SHRUB insists that he can?

Hunh? Are they getting a CLUE yet? :rofl:

embrionic stem cell research:

http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=48379

This repudiation of touch screen voting machines is really great and I applaud him for it.

However, I'm sitting on my hands regarding his recent announcement of tax cuts that will take funds away from education and local governments.

Education is always underfunded and the first to have its funds cut...

(on edit: added an "s")

I'll give Crist credit for not colluding with Jeb on election fraud and Schiavo, but are there any other areas where he's opposite of Jeb on?

this area.

In the past, he has been gung ho on the FCATs (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) which determine whether or not a student gets a standard diploma or not.

It is said that his position on FCATs softened during the gubernatorial race due to the many, many people telling him how much they HATE the hold the FCATs have on our children.

But, Jebbie spiked Crist on any changes he might want to make by reappointed the Education Commissioner just before his term ended. Crist cannot remove the Education Commissioner until his first term is ended.

I have been pleasantly surprised by Crist thus far. But it is early days and I'm flying a wait and see pattern for now.

Maybe it will keep the next satanic dick-tator from sucking the blood out of America.

By STEVE BOUSQUET
Published February 1, 2007

TALLAHASSEE - Eager to end six troublesome years of touch screen voting in Florida, Gov. Charlie Crist wants every county to switch to paper ballots by 2008.

Crist will ask the Legislature to spend more than $30-million to replace touch screens with an optical scan system that allows a voter to mark an oval next to a candidate's name before slipping a ballot into an electronic reader - the same way absentee ballots are cast.

The change would affect a majority of the state's voters living in 15 mostly urban counties, including Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco ...

http://www.sptimes.com/2007/02/01/State/Crist__Every_county_n.shtml

There's still a lot of work to do.

Making sure that the states are REQUIRED to conduct random manual recounts of at least a percentage of the vote, in multiple counties -- and not just the little ones where tricks with the numbers are less likely becaue they're more visible.

At this point in time, Florida law prohibits manual counting unless there is less than 1/2 of 1% difference in the vote.

there will be something to audit.

It's a start!

It is a start, ...and a modest turning point. Hooray for the home team!

who have fought for this cause. :yourock:

With Jeb's political star faded, Crist is in a good position to fill the void. He could be softening you up just to make a sharp right turn--just like Bush and Schwarzenegger.

:headbang:
rocknation

:kick:

By Anthony Man
sun-sentinel.com Political Writer
Posted February 1 2007, 4:14 PM EST


Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio endorsed Gov. Charlie Crist's plan to scrap the controversial touch-screen voting machines and replace them with optical scanning machines.

Rubio's stand increases the odds that an optical scan requirement will become part of state law. However, he expressed reservations about the idea of the state paying for the optical scan equipment for Broward, Palm Beach and the 13 other counties with touch-screen machines.

Those counties all made the choice of touch-screen machines after the 2000 presidential election debacle brought changes in state election law. The state's 52 counties chose or remained with optical scanners that read paper ballots.

If the state pays for optical scanners for the 15 counties to replace their touch-screen machines, then the counties that made what Rubio called the "right decision" will see that as unfair.

more: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-21crist,0,3493344.story?coll=sfla-news-sfla

K&R.

....that is not a solution.

We must return to simple paper ballots and rely on hand counts and audits until our voting process in this state and for that matter this country can again be trusted.

this is good news/

But it's a step in the right direction. At least optical scanners have paper ballots that can be recounted. No more vapor-votes.

There was a very thorough random sample followup to the last election here that revealed no serious issues.

I would be thrilled if someone could prove me wrong, but I'm just not buying this as a "good" thing. Why would a loyal Bush Republican do the right thing, if doing so will undoubtedly hurt his own party and strip it of the ability to manipulate elections? Something doesn't add up.

All of the vote fraud was to benefit Bush only. Why should they care about other Republicans? So the vote is likely to be fairer,as no Bush will be running this time.

Take it one issue at a time. The fraud failed and the probability of Dems controlling everything increases- without their actually repudiating these touchscreen bandits. Ironically this is likely more scary than the Dems being determined to oust the machines.

The new Dem Congress reforms will make HAVA work and take down the machines anyway. Money lost and time will not allow for other types of rigging or a return to "traditions".

This hunkering down means the temporary defeat and too quiet burying of tools that would have been great- had the GOP won last year.

So, as a reform victory it would be decisive but not absolute. No past fraud has been uncovered, admitted or redressed. Future implementation therefore with cleverer, less ambitious schemes will sneak in again if the sweeping principles of the best reformers are not universally legislated.

As to who controls the fraud and how well or daring or how favor-bought, that is the burning dissatisfaction even among the staunchest toadies of those self-chosen few.

It is a step in the right direction, but it really is just a half measure. The door to theft is still quite open.

It is being done with the idea that the reformers can be thrown off their course toward total reform. Like giving the guard dog a steak and so it will go lie down somewhere while the burgulars break in. An old ploy.

That and the fact that it is now quite evident that the machines are responsible for the *loss* of many people's votes and with the resultant hue and cry from us common citizens ringing in the ears of the *pro* democracy press, something simply had to be done. But wait, it is not done yet, is it?

there has to be more to this story but at least it creates an important headline and coming from an infamous state it resparks the conversation

Just goes to show all yall were right that the machines were no good. Now, even a republican is getting rid of the damned things!

When I think of the BS all yall reformers had to wade through.....