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COMMENTARY ON FOX NEWS REPORT JULY 8, 2008:
Brit Hume aired the spot on Sarasota's July 8th mock election at 6:15 rather than 6:30 tonight. The mock election was a good way to introduce the new voting process to the public. It is clear the process is simple, easy, and will surely save the county money over time with machines that are much less expensive to maintain than the old DRE touch screens. Now all voters in Sarasota County can have paper ballots, including the disabled. The AutoMark ballot marker works like a charm.
Voters like paper ballots, but know we need post-election audits to verify machine counts. That is still the missing piece. System audits prior to elections are only part of the equation.
Concerned voters want bottom-line audits (spot-checks) of machine tallies compared to hand-counts of paper ballots in enough races to provide reassurance that the machines are working right on Election Day. Our Florida legislature has given us an audit of only 1-2% of one race, randomly selected. That is too little, too late. It is done after the election is certified, which makes it a historical anecdote, not a tool for ensuring that the election is accurate.
We want election supervisors who strive for accurate, transparent elections, and welcome audits rather than run from them.
We want a state legislature that champions the rights of all citizens to vote, and knows that "We the people" should be picking our elected officials, not elected officials picking their voters by gerrymandering districts so they can stay in office.
We love paper ballots. Finally voters have an independent record of their votes that can be used for audits and recounts as needed. And yes, we need meaningful recount laws in Florida, not the inadequate recount law our Florida legislature has given us. We must never have another election debacle like that in 2000.
All counties using electronic optical scan voting machines need to check the machine counts at the close of the election to make sure they match the ballots. That includes all 52 counties in Florida that have been using optical scanners for the past six years, plus the 15 touch screen counties that are just now converting to the latest model scanners with new software unproven in the marketplace. We must never again "trust without verifying" election results and become guinea pigs for a new technology.
If our county charter amendment prevails at the Florida Supreme Court, Sarasota County may pave the way for our state legislature to require meaningful audits for all of Florida.
This is our democracy we are trying to preserve.
Kindra Muntz, President
Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections (SAFE)
Co-Founder, Florida Voters Coalition
Member, VoteTrustUSA Leaders Group
safevote@comcast.net
www.safevote.org
941.497.1764
MOCK ELECTION PLANNED IN SARASOTA COUNTY JULY 8, 2008
June 13, 2008
Thanks to all of these great citizens for their good work.
This is a great commentary by Pat Rounds, in celebration of the work Skip Parish and Rosemarie Myerson are doing to ensure that all our new optical scanners with new software are tested thoroughly before use.
Pat and Rosemarie are original Board members of SAFE, the Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections. They are continuing their work for secure, accurate elections, meaningful audits of elections and transparency in government. Skip Parish is a knowledgeable investigator, a multitalented researcher, and a concerned longtime resident of Sarasota. They are true patriots.
Their work and the work of other concerned voters around the country are beginning to make democracy function once again in this country.
Now your vote and the votes of all citizens will keep democracy flourishing.
Kindra Muntz, President
Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections (SAFE)
Co-Founder, Florida Voters Coalition
Member, VoteTrustUSA Leaders Group
safevote@comcast.net
www.safevote.org
941.497.1764
----- Original Message -----
From:Patricia Rounds
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2008 10:30 PM
Subject: A Special Thank You!
A special word of gratitude to Skip Parish and Rosemarie Myerson, who despite resistence by the SOE and some County Commissioners, have helped to ensure that Sarasota County's new optical scan voting system will be tested for accuracy and reliability by the voting public well in advance of the August Primary. While the upcoming mock election doesn't meet the testing standard used by several other FL counties, it's a step in the right direction. The SHT article below shows the results of their efforts.
As two of the most vocal advocates for reliable elections, Rosemarie and Skip exemplify what it means to be "good citizens", working tirelessly to seek and share the truth. Were it not for their civic-minded persistence, Sarasota County would have accepted this new op scan equipment without the proper testing required to confim its accuracy and reliability.
Unfortunately along the way they were also discouraged by some leaders from providing full disclosure about the purchase of this new, untested voting equipment intended for use in the 2008 August Primary and November General election. Many voters were led to believe by the SOE and others that Sarasota County voters would use borrowed, but tested optical scanners through November 2008----a claim enhancing voter confidence without factual foundation. Thankfully, a key Commissioner has supported meaningful op scan testing, and the print media is now providing more full disclosure on this important subject.
Voters of all political stripes deserve to know what their leaders and elections officials are doing, and how their decisions/practices might affect the conduct and outcome of elections. Knowledge is power---to be shared, not coveted and doled out by the privileged few.
In addition, the DECSC Election Oversight team should become more familiar with other pre/post election testing and tabulation practices by Sarasota Elections Office. This and every election should operate on the principle, "Trust but Verify."
Sarasota Herald Tribune
June 12, 2008
Mock election to test vote scanners
ByDoug Sword
Published Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last updated Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 9:42 a.m.
SARASOTA COUNTY — A mock election scheduled for July 8 to test $3.5 million in new voting equipment will include all 199 of the system's optical scanner machines.
Advocates for changing election procedures had complained that the mock election would test only the handful of optical scanners that would be used at the three voting sites set up for the mock election. Those sites will be in Sarasota, North Port and Venice.
Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent announced Wednesday that all of the machines at the county warehouse would also be put to the test that day when a deck of 250 ballots will be run through each scanner to make sure they tabulate correctly.
Dent's decision won quick approval from W. "Skip" Parish, the computer expert appointed by Democrats to monitor county elections.
Parish, who has been critical of the county's performance during elections, had complained over the past several weeks that Dent had accepted the expensive equipment without testing how it would perform in an election.
"The emphasis here is to get good elections," Parish said. "This is not a partisan issue."
The mock election will pose five questions, from picking your favorite Sarasota County beach to voting for best late-night TV host.
"I want to see people out and voting, do their part to test the system," Dent said.
Dent had rejected Parish's suggestion that the new Sarasota County machines be tested the way that elections supervisors test their systems in Bay and Leon counties.
That would have involved moving the computer systems that run the election from Dent's downtown Sarasota office to the county warehouse, an "incredibly expensive" proposition, Dent said.
Instead, the scanners will send their vote totals to the downtown office and the machine tapes will be driven there so that county commissioners, who will oversee the test, can check results.
"We want the voter confidence," Dent said. "I'm not doing it for the commission, I'm not doing it for Skip."
Parish said he still had questions about details of the testing, but applauded the plan to simulate election night conditions by transmitting the vote totals downtown.
In a release Wednesday, Dent's office said the testing of the machines at the warehouse on Sarasota Center Boulevard will be open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. That test begins at 8 a.m. July 8.
Last modified: June 12, 2008 9:42am
FOLLOW-UP REPORT ON FLORIDA
SUPREME COURT ORAL ARGUMENTS,MAY 9, 2008
To concerned voters:
May 7, 2008 at 9:00 AM, five stalwart SAFE supporters attended the oral argument of the Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections vs. Kurt S. Browning at the Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee. Our attorney Thomas Shults did an outstanding job fielding a battery of questions from the seven justices of the Supreme Court and soundly presented our case for paper ballots and mandatory audits (spot checks) of machine counts of elections.
You can see and hear the entire proceedings archived at http://wfsu.org/gavel2gavel/archives/index.html www.floridasupremecourt.org, oral argument, May 7th, 9 AM, Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections, Inc. et. al vs. Kurt S Browning et.al.
Ellen Brodsky of the Broward Election Reform Coalition drove all the way from Broward County to attend the hearing, and Ion Sancho, Supervisor of Elections of Leon County, a champion of verified elections, also attended this historic Supreme Court event.
We may not know the results for weeks, but the decision could mark a turning point in the ability of home rule counties to add protections for voters in matters of elections.
A key question was asked by Justice Arnstead:
"Why in the world would either the Legislature or the Secretary of State or anybody object to local elections officials trying to ensure that their system operates as intended and that they get it right?"
All voters should consider that question when they go to the polls in November. It seems the people in power don't want verified elections. Perhaps it's time to elect statesmen instead of politicians, and to have honesty and transparency in government.
Kindra Muntz, President
Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections (SAFE)
Co-Founder, Florida Voters Coalition
Member, VoteTrustUSA Leaders Group
safevote@comcast.net
www.safevote.org
941.497.1764
DON’T MISS THIS ARTICLE
http://www.heraldtr ibune.com/ article/20080508 /NEWS/805080578/ 1661
Article published May 8, 2008
Justices hear case on election rules
Advocates say counties can enact own election reforms, but state disagrees
Florida Supreme Court Justice Harry Lee Anstead asks questions
of attorneys during the Florida Legislatures redistricting case
presented to the court Tuesday in Tallahassee. AP PHOTO / PHIL COALE
TALLAHASSEE Florida Supreme Court justices heard arguments Wednesday in a case that will determine how far local governments can go in setting their own election rules.
At the center of the debate is a charter amendment Sarasota County voters approved 18 months ago to adopt stricter election auditing procedures than the state requires.
The state and Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent say the amendment is unconstitutional because it usurps state election laws and interferes with the counting and certification of votes.
Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections, the group that collected signatures to put the amendment on the November 2006 ballot, says local governments have the right to adopt such reforms.
"There's nothing in state law that prevents home rule charters from addressing these issues," said the group's leader, Kindra Muntz.
"The audit is a spot-check of the machine results, to make sure the machine is working right. It's not a recount."
The charter amendment, which passed with 55 percent of the vote, requires an independent audit of 5 percent of precincts after each election in Sarasota County.
State law requires an audit of 1 percent.
The audit would have to take place within five days, and any discrepancies would have to be worked out before election results could be certified. That is one of the sticking points in the case, as state law requires results to be certified in 12 days in general elections and seven days in primaries.
Dent, Secretary of State Kurt Browning and the Sarasota County Commission sued to try to strike down the amendment.
A lower court ruled in favor of the citizens group. But last fall the 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that election laws must be uniform statewide and that state law supersedes county law on election measures, meaning Sarasota County cannot have a more aggressive auditing procedure than the rest of the state.
At Wednesday's hearing, justices questioned why, if the Legislature wanted uniform elections rules across the state, counties are permitted to use voting machines from different manufacturers.
By far the most intense exchange came between Justice Harry Anstead and the lawyer representing Browning, Pete Antonacci.
Anstead questioned the reasoning behind the state not wanting local governments to adopt stricter election checks and balances.
"Why in the world would either the Legislature or the secretary of state or anybody object to local elections officials trying to ensure that their system operates as intended and that they get it right?" Anstead said.
Antonacci said the county's amendment "interferes with the counting, recounting and certification of votes."
Anstead wanted to know how.
"It will happen, as night follows day, that there will be inconsistent results and those inconsistent results will be known" before certification, Antonacci said.
"Well that seems to me to follow the policy of see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil," Anstead said.
"That there are problems there that we don't want to know."
Antonacci responded, "When you're going to have dueling numbers, it's going to throw a monkey wrench into every outcome."
The Florida Supreme Court generally takes a few months to deliver an opinion after hearing arguments. In the meantime, Sarasota County is not required to enact the election rules in the charter amendment.
THE DAY BEFORE THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT ORAL ARGUMENTS:
TUESDAY, MAY 6, 2008
To all Concerned Voters:
Wednesday, May 7th will be an historic day for voters in Sarasota County, and in all of Florida.
The oral argument in the appeal of Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections, Inc. et. al vs. Kurt S. Browning, et. al. Case Number SC07-2074/2nd DCA Case No. 2D06-4339 will beheard at the
Florida Supreme Court
500 S. Duval Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1927
9 AM May 7, 2008
20 minutes for oral argument from the Petitioners (SAFE, et. al)
20 minutes for rebuttal from the Respondents (Browning, et.a.)
The public is welcome to attend.
Proceedings can also be viewed in real time online or archived at www.floridasupremecourt.org, Oral Argument, http://wfsu.org/gavel2gavel/
Following is a statement from SAFE attorney Tom Shults:
"I represent the Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections (SAFE). Just a reminder that the Sarasota County Charter Amendment which requires paper ballots and spot audits of machine counts is being argued before the Florida Supreme Court on May 7 @ 9am. This case has important implications for Home Rule authority, the power of the people to amend their Charter by referendum and the ability of local officials to adopt methods to insure that voting machines (optical scans etc.) are operating correctly before the results are reported to Tallahassee. The Florida Secretary of State, Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections and the Sarasota County Commission oppose the amendment, which was approved by the voters in November 2006."
Thomas D. Shults
Kirk-Pinkerton P.A.
50 Central Ave. Suite 700
Sarasota, FL 34236
941.364.2425
tshults@kirkpinkerton.com
PRESS RELEASE FROM THE ACLU OF FLORIDA, MAY 6, 2008
Florida Voters Coalition Co-founders receive
2008 Nelson Poynter Civil Liberties Award
ACLU Foundation of Florida to Honor Florida Voters Coalition Founders at Annual Event
Tickets on Sale for Play Based on the Life of Clarence Darrow Following the Award Presentation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 6, 2008
CONTACT:
Brandon Hensler,Director of Communications, 786-363-2722 or media@aclufl.org
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation of Florida will present the 2008 Nelson Poynter Civil Liberties Award to the four founders of the Florida Voters Coalition at its annual event. The Coalition led the charge to reform Florida’s voting systems in 2007 with the replacement of electronic paperless voting machines with paper-based optical scan systems. The Coalition founders, including Pam Haengel of St. Petersburg, will receive the award at a ceremony at the Palladium Theater in St. Petersburg on Saturday, May 17, 2008.
The Nelson Poynter Civil Liberties Award is the highest honor bestowed by the civil liberties organization. The Poynter award will be shared by Pam Haengel, Dan McCrea, Kindra Muntz and Susan Pynchon. In addition, the civil liberties organization will be recognizing the work of Florida’s several non-partisan grassroots voting integrity organizations, including the Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition, Broward Election Reform Coalition, Palm Beach Coalition for Election Reform, Volusia County-based Florida Fair Elections Coalition, Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections and Voting Integrity Alliance of Tampa Bay.
Following the award ceremony, Gary L. Anderson, the renowned portrayer of America’s most famous, celebrated and hated attorney – Clarence Darrow – will be featured in a special performance. Clarence Darrow: The Search for Justice recounts the lawyer’s life and greatest trials, including the Scopes “Monkey” Trial, murder, civil rights trials, and his defense of the most hated in our society.
Prior to the performance there will be a cocktail reception in honor of the Poynter recipients beginning at 6:00PM, followed by the show at 7:15. The events will take place at The Palladium, 253 Fifth Avenue North, in St. Petersburg, FL. For more information, sponsorships or ticket sales, contact Monique Lebron at mlebron@aclufl.org.
The ACLU Foundation of Florida’s Nelson Poynter Civil Liberties Award is presented each year to an individual or group of individuals whom have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of civil liberties. The award is named for the former crusading editor of the St. Petersburg Times, who was never afraid to stand up for unpopular causes. He fought racial segregation, defended the right of a free press, exposed corruption in government and supported the rights of the elderly and the poor. He also led the fight for the Sunshine Law, opening Florida’s government to public scrutiny and accountability.
“It is time to recognize and honor the work of citizen watchdogs to guarantee all citizens of Florida fair, accessible, re-countable, accurate and reliable elections,” said Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida. “We are grateful to the four awardees and the voting reform groups throughout Florida for efforts to ensure the integrity of our elections. As problem filled as our elections have been in Florida, imagine how much worse things would have been were if not for the efforts of non-partisan watchdog organizations.”
“We could not do what we do without the work and dedication of many good people around the state and all over this country who give of themselves to this cause and whom we are proud to call our friends. Citizen involvement in elections is vital to the health of our democracy,” said Pam Haengle, president, group moderator and leader of the Voting Integrity Alliance of Tampa Bay, a non-partisan, grassroots citizens' group dedicated to election reform.
Dan McCrea, president and co-founder of Florida Voters Coalition (FVC) and Florida Voters Foundation, works with coalition members and partners to provide public education, research, lobbying, litigation, and other programs to improve elections in Florida and nationally. In October 2007, Dan helped organized the first ever Post Election Audit Summit held in Minneapolis. Before co-founding FVC, Dan was Florida Director of Voter Action and Government Relations Chair of the Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition.
In January 2006, after spending two years researching the problems of electronic voting, Kindra Muntz formed the Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections (SAFE). As president of SAFE, she led the Sarasota County citizens’ petition drive that resulted in the November 2006 win for voter-verified paper ballots and mandatory audits of election results.
Susan Pynchon of De Leon Springs was a volunteer investigating voting irregularities in Volusia County’s 2004 elections when she went through the Elections Office trash to uncover weaknesses in the security and equipment. Her volunteer work earned her national recognition as an investigator of the pitfalls of electronic voting systems. She has been featured in national print and broadcast media outlets. Together, Pynchon was a founder of the Florida Fair Elections Coalition. “I am truly honored and humbled as one of the 2008 recipients of the Nelson Poynter award,” said Pynchon.
The first recipient of the Nelson Poynter Civil Liberties Award was the late Florida Governor LeRoy Collins in 1978, who was recognized for his courageous leadership in upholding racial justice and opposing the death penalty. Past recipients have also included State Senator Jack Gordon, Judge Richard Yale Feder, Florida and American Bar Association Bar President Chesterfield Smith, Congressman William E. Lehman, Judge Rosemary Barkett, Miami-Dade County School Board Member Janet McAliley, Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald Kogan, Miami-Dade County Public Defender Bennett H. Brummer, Immigrant Rights Attorney Cheryl Little, Congressman Alcee Hastings, two Florida Planned Parenthood leaders, and author and columnist Carl Hiaasen.
About the ACLU of Florida
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida is freedom's watchdog, working daily in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend individual rights and personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rig
hts. For additional information, visit our Web site at: www.aclufl.org.
NATIONAL LEGISLATION FAILS—April 16, 2008
Tuesday, April 15th, the House of Representatives in Washington failed to pass HR5036, the "Emergency Assistance for Secure Elections Act of 2008" sponsored by Rep. Rush Holt (D, NJ) and 92 co-sponsors. This would have provided funding for emergency paper ballots and audits to verify the November, 2008 election results.
The Administration, in an unprecented move, made a statement in opposition to this bill. It was the first time they have weighed in on election reform since the HAVA Act of 2002. As Warren Stewart of Verifiedvoting.org says, (this Administration's opposition) "has a chilling effect, bordering almost on hypothermia."
This was the result: 239 Yeas (16 Republican)
178 Nays (176 Republican) (unbelievably, Kucinich and Rahall voted against it!)
15 not voting
Translation: It is the Republicans in control of the White House (and the state of Florida) who march in lockstep to oppose verified elections. See the sections in red below.
IT IS TIME FOR A CHANGE, FOLKS, AT EVERY LEVEL.
Kindra Muntz
This analysis was from our colleague Ellen Brodsky in Broward County:
Tue Apr 15, 2008 12:19 pm (PDT)
I was watching the House proceedings of HR 5036. The result was those present voted in favor of the bill by voice vote. However, since 2/3 of the house were not present it was said the bill was suspended for voting until further notice.
Today, the White House reigned in by saying they were not in favor of this bill, but I didn't hear the word "veto." Lofgren and Holt were shocked that it did not receive the bi-partisan support it had in the committee. Even though all three of Ranking member Ehlers' amendments were voted favorably in the House Administration Committee, thereby making this bill bi-partisan, it took a dramatic turnaround on the house floor based on party affiliation. With the Democratic speakers in favor of passage and stressing it was only optional to the Republicans claiming there was not enough time to implement the bill and the costs of over $600 million/ Holt defended the need based on too many election problems across the country many of which can never be resolved without a voter verified paper ballots and audits of these ballots. Republicans pointed to the $3 billion already spent and that the bill spends more money on electronic voting, voters make too many mistakes in filling in
these ballots and these decisions should best be left to the states using their resources.
Holt again pointed out that many jurisdictions have made the change to optical scanners in a short period of time and again the bill is optional and provides funding for the states who wish to take advantage of it.
All applauded Holt for his efforts, but the Republicans said it was not the time to implement such sweeping change in an election year. They said they looked forward to working with Holt in future bi-partisan legislation.
Therefore, the bi-partisan bill today turned very partisan with the 'White House mixing in to prevent verifiable elections even optionally in an a Presidential Election year.
From my understanding, since the bill passed by voice vote, yet 2/3 were not present for a vote this bill could come up again for the a vote at any time.
Is this correct?
Ellen H. Brodsky
PENDING ELECTION BILLS IN TALLAHASSEE:
MORE MONKEY BUSINESS FROM OUR FLORIDA LEGISLATURE
April 16, 2008
This is a wake-up call to all voters who care about their voice in government.
Once again, the Republican-controlled Florida state legislature is trying further to erode the citizen initiative process--to take away the voice of the people.
It is time for a change, folks.
Kindra Muntz
----- Original Message -----
From:Anthony Doe
To:cirv-talk@yahoogroups.com ; sarasotaallianceforfairelections@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 2:16 AM
Subject: [SAFE] Pending Election Bills in Tallahassee
As you can see from this list, the legislature is up to their old tricks working hard to erode the initiative process and other dumb ideas (like removing the slight amount of public financing for gubernatorial elections). Please consider contacting YOUR representative, especially if they are a Republican, to voice your opinion on these issues.
Anthony Lorenzo
Capitol Report
League of Women Voters of Florida
540 Beverly Court, Tallahassee, FL 32301, 850-224-2545
email: lwvf1@comcast.net and website: http://www.lwvfla.org
Jeanne Zokovitch, LWVF Legislative Advocate
Issue 2008, Vol. 8 April 11, 2008
http://www.lwvfla.org/pdf%20files/caprpts2007/Capitol_Report_-_Apr_11_2008-final.pdf
THIS WEEK'S OPEN GOV'T & ELECTION BILLS AT A GLANCE:
SB 2726 – Presidential Preference
Primary Election – favorable by
Ethics and Elections (5 to 1)
HB 991 – Voice of the People Act –
CS by Government Efficiency &
Accountability (14 to 0)
HB 1201 - election bill - CS by
Economic Expansion &
Infrastructure (10 to 4)
GOVERNMENT IN FLORIDA
Representative Dorothy Hukill's (R, 28) bill, HB 991, "Voice of the People Act." HB 991 requires public input at all local meetings. Hukill believes citizen input in government official decisions produces better results. This bill has implications in
Growth Management as well as the League's priority Government in Florida –
look for updates on it in either section. HB 991 has a companion bill, SB 2276, filed by Senator Lynn (R, 7). HB 991 was removed from its referral to Urban and
Local Affairs and placed on the Government Efficiency and Accountability
agenda on April 3rd, but the meeting was cancelled. LWVF put out an action alert this past week for members to call the GE&ACouncil members and urge support.
The bill was unanimously passed by the GE&A Council as a CS on April 8th.
League Vice President Marilynn Wills was present and testified in support of the bill. As the League predicted an amendment was added to HB 991 which waters down the bill some. The new language allows local governments to opt out of the bill's requirements by adopting a written policy addressing its public participation policies.
SB 2276 has yet to be agendaed.
REDISTRICTING
The League supports single-member election districts that are equal in population, that provide access for minorities, are compact and, when possible, take local characteristics such as political and geographical boundaries into consideration.
A joint resolution, SJR 1114, has been filed by Senator Charlie Justice (D, 16), which would address many of the League's concerns pertaining to redistricting. The bill proposes amendments to the constitution pertaining to redistricting and
reapportionment. The bill would create an independent commission to set up
redistricting plans. By having an independent commission draw the lines for
districts will ideally alleviate concerns of gerrymandering and other political
influences affecting redistricting. SJR 1114 has been referred to the Ethics and
Elections Committee; Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations, Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations, and Rules, but has yet to be placed on any agenda. There is no companion legislation in the House which significantly reduces the likelihood of this legislation going anywhere.
Additionally, the League is assisting with efforts to collect signatures for the revised version of the citizen amendment on redistricting.
CITIZEN INITIATIVES
In the past few sessions, the League has spoken out against proposed bills which further limit citizen access and elevate the role of the legislature in writing, rewriting and regulating the constitution. This increased role of the Legislature is troublesome to the League as it dramatically curtails checks and balances in the Florida government system. With the passage of HB 537 containing an amendment which creates a petition revocation process and the veto of SB 900 the anti-citizen petition bill last year it is unclear what will be done on this issue this year. The League will oppose bills which limit citizens' right to constitutional initiatives and where appropriate advance the idea of a citizen statutory initiative.
HB 1201/SB 866 updates are below under Elections.
On March 20th the House Ethics & Elections Committee took up HB 903 by
Representative Dorworth (R, 34). This bill is another one of the Florida Chamber of Commerce's highest priorities again this year and attempts to further burden the citizen initiative process. The bill is aimed at only paid signature gatherers. While the League knows we do not pay signature gatherers, many of the initiatives we have supported have had to in order to even possibly be successful in the climate that has chilled citizen and volunteer involvement because of the many burdens effected in numerous bills aimed at this process in the last few years. League VP Marilynn Wills spoke against the bill with others but the bill was approved by all members present. HB 903 next was on the EE&I Council's agenda for April 1st.
League lobbyist, Jeanne Zokovitch, testified adamantly against the bill noting the ruse behind the bill that it was designed to penalize criminals who were gathering petition signatures by citing a simple analogy "this bill is akin to having your purse stolen, having the thief caught by law enforcement, but rather than returning your purse to you, law enforcement lets the thief go and throws your purse away without telling you". The bill does not penalize the petition gatherer who was improperly registered but instead throws out the perfectly valid petitions. The bill sponsor also had significant problems trying to explain the bill during intense questioning by representatives below who later voted against the bill. Nonetheless the bill was passed as a CS by a 9 to 4 party-line vote.
Representatives Bucher (D, 88), Bullard (D, 118), Cusack (D, 27), and Fitzgerald
(D, 69) voted against this bill. The bill has already been placed on the Policy and
Budget Council's agenda for Monday, April 14th, at 3:15pm.
Its Senate companion is SB 2340 by Senator Posey (R, 24) which has been referred to Ethics and Elections; Judiciary; Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations. SB 2340 was voted favorably by the Ethics and Elections committee on April 1st. The final vote was 5 to 2 with Senators Justice (D, 16) and Rich (D, 34) voting in opposition. SB 2340 is now in the Judiciary but not currently on its agenda for the coming week.
ELECTION LAW
The League supports measures to advocate for fair methods of financing
political campaigns.
The Senate Ethics and Elections committee discussed 4 election related bills at its February 20, 2008 meeting/workshop. The League's lobbyist, Jeanne Zokovitch, spoke on Senator Rich's (D, 34), Senator Charlie Justice's (D, 16), and Senator Steve Oelrich's (R, 14) bills at the workshop.
Senator Nan Rich's bill, SB 880, addresses mail in ballots. The bill revises the current law on mail in ballots and extends the option of mail in ballots to a board of county commissioners. SB 880 has been referred to the Ethics and Elections
Committee, Community Affairs, Judiciary, and Transportation and Economic
Development Appropriations. The League supports this bill as it will improve access to the election process. Other states that have increased or instituted state-wide mail in options have dramatically increased voter turn-out. SB 880 was on the Ethics & Elections Committee agenda for April 1st and passed unanimously as a CS. The bill is now in Community Affairs.
HB 429 by Rep. Fitzgerald (D, 69) is the identical companion bill to SB 880. It has been referred to the House Ethics & Elections Committee and the Economic
Expansion and Infrastructure Council, but has not been place on any agenda.
Senator Justice's bill, SB 532, creates prohibitions on the use of public funds by a local government entity advocating for a specific position in an issue campaign and has been referred to Ethics and Elections, Community Affairs, and Judiciary. In recent years many local Leagues have been disappointed in these extravagant expenditures taking a position on an issue which is supposed to be being decided by the voters. While we support the issue of education, the use of public funds to try to sway the outcome of such a campaign violates many League principles. The bill has now been co-sponsored by Sen. Atwater (R, 25), Sen. Posey (R, 24) and Sen. Gaetz (R, 4). This bill was also the subject of one of the Talking Points given to Leaguers at Seminar.
HB 195 by Rep. Long (D, 51) and cosponsored by Rep. Homan (R, 60) is a similar bill. It has been referred to the Ethics & Elections Committee, the Economic Expansion & Infrastructure Council and the Policy & Budget Council but has yet to be placed on any agenda.
Senator Oelrich's (R, 14) bill is actually a bill and a joint resolution, SB 958/SJR956, repeals the "Florida Election Campaign Financing Act" and would remove the requirement of public financing of campaigns of candidates for elective statewide office who agree to campaign spending limits. The joint resolution would go to the ballot for an ultimate vote by the voters to remove this provision from our Constitution. The League strongly supports public financing as it levels the playing field to allow less-financed individuals to run for office and it is a successful campaign finance measure limiting overall spending in elections when used appropriately. In Florida in 2005 at the sunset of Session, reforms to Florida's public financing law were snuck through by majority leaders – these "reforms" astronomically raised the spending limits which would still allow a person to qualify for public financing. This has resulted in huge election price tags and a backlash against
public financing. However, this could easily be addressed by returning to more modest spending limits that achieve the goals of public financing. Proponents of this legislation are using the events since 2005 as a ruse for why public financing should be eliminated but truly they just don't believe in public financing options or the goals it achieves. SB 958/SJR 956 has been referred to Ethics and Elections, Judiciary, Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations. These pieces of legislation were passed by the Senate Ethics & Elections Committee on March 11th where Marilynn and League allies spoke again against the bill. The vote was reported as 5 to 1, despite the vote outcome both Senator Justice and Senator Margolis spoke strongly against the bills and several committee members were not in attendance. SJR 956 shows a 4 to 2 vote. Talking Points showing why the League opposes these measures were also given out at Seminar. Both bills are now currently in the
Judiciary but not showing on their tentative agenda.
In the House HJR 281/HB 277 by Rep. Hays (R, 25) are the companions to the
Oelrich legislation discussed above. On Feb, 21st, League lobbyist, Jeanne
Zokovitch, addressed these measures at the House Ethics and Elections Committee educating the members that the system while flawed needed to be fixed not eliminated. The vote of House E&E was along party lines with the measures passing 4 to 3. Rep. Ausley (D, 9), Fitzgerald (D, 69) and Schwartz (D, 99) voted against the bill while voting for the bill were Rep. Sandy Adams (R, 33), Rep.Peter Nehr (R, 48), Rep. Pat Patterson (R, 26), and David Simmons (R, 37). HJR 281/HB 277 were passed out of the House Economic Expansion & Infrastructure Council on March 20th. Both bills passed by a 9 to 4 vote with Representatives, Bucher (D, 88), Cusack (D, 27), Fitzgerald (D, 69), and Reed (D, 59) opposed to the bills.
HJR 281/HB 277 bills were given a strong push by the Republicans and gained momentum as the idea of public campaign financing was given the tagline as "welfare for politicians." The bills passed out of the Policy and Budget Council favorable along party lines. If the joint resolution passes by a 3/5s vote by each chamber, they will be placed on the ballot. Governor Crist, who has mixed emotions about repealing the Campaign Financing Act, does not have the ability to sign or veto a ballot measure passed by the Legislature. Both bills were debated and voted on by the House on April 2nd. The tagline "welfare for politicians" continued to resonate in the House as the bill was taken up. The House rejected HJR 281 by an 82 to 34 vote (mainly along party lines). The League predicted the vote would be mainly along party lines because of the pressure most Republican representatives were feeling from the House leadership. On a side note, Republican Presidential nominee, John
McCain, supports public financing which could have implications down the road as more learn of his stance.
While Democrats generally opposed the whole plan embodied in HJR 281/HB 277, they did reach middle ground on April 2nd with HB 277. Representative Ausley (D, 9) proposed an amendment to HB 277 which would lower the spending caps on the public campaign financing and return the caps to their pre-2005 caps. So, if HJR 281 passes in the Senate but does not get the required 60% public approval in the November polls, then its companion bill HB 277 will be in effect (assuming it passes the Senate as well) and thus spending caps would be lowered. Democrats support campaign public finance because it removes the influence of special-interest groups. Plus, 17 other states have some form of it. Rep. Ausley's amendment helped HB 277 unanimously pass out of the House. The League will be watching to see the implications of the new added language to HB 277 as it now no longer runs concurrent with SB 958.
This year's budget constraints could be a potential push for the repeal of Public
Campaign Finance. In 2006, public campaign finance cost the state $11
million. Proponents for both HJR 281 and HB 277 are using the fiscal impact of
public campaign finance to support the bill. Rep. Ausley's amendment to HB 277 will lower the fiscal impact of the bill due to the lowered caps. Thus, such an amendment would be beneficial in strained budget years. In contrast, supports of HJR 281 will point to lack of funds all together in the strained budget for campaign financing. As the House and Senate work out their budgets, it will be interesting to see the effects (if any) it will have on the movement of these bills.
Both HB 277/HJR 281 are in Senate Messages. This means that instead of picking up the Senate companions the Senate does have the option of picking up the House versions directly. We will be keeping an eye on this.
A big thanks goes out to all the League members who helped educate and discuss with their local Representatives the League's position on campaign public financing in the past few weeks!
Senator Mike Fasano (R, 11) also had a bill brought up during the Senate Ethics
and Election workshop, SB 118. SB 118 has been referred to Ethics and Elections, Governmental Operations, and Judiciary. There is no identified companion in the House for this bill, but it could be taken up as an amendment on other related issue bills.
Another issue among election reform this session focuses on the need to develop a better way to monitor election results.
Florida's current audit provision is seen as problematic even by state officials, but recently Secretary of State Kurt Browning stated that he does not think this is the year to make these types of changes.
Despite Browning's hesitation, many are pushing for these audit changes to be
approved this legislative session. Different activist groups, including Florida Voters Coalition, have been working hard at getting bills filed and language add/changed to make sure that Florida's audit process is addressed this session.
One bill, SB 2544, has been filed by Senator Justice (D, 16) and calls for
tougher post-election audit requirements. Senator Justice seems hopeful that a
reformed audit procedure will be a result of this year's legislative session but he said he "understands the reality of what we are proposing in an election year." Despite the unlikelihood of reform happening this year Senator Justice at least hopes this bill will both help push discussions among Florida lawmakers as well as continue to remind them of the need for an improved audit provisions. SB 2544 has not been referred to the Senate Committees on Ethics and Elections, Judiciary, and Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations but has yet to be placed on any of the committees' agendas. The League has decided to support this legislation as it currently exists. Last year,
the League was the lead organization that achieved some improvements in HB 537's audit language and asked that additional audit issues be considered in the 2008 session.
HB 1521 by Rep. Sasso (D, 32) is the identical house companion for this bill. It
has been referred to the Ethics & Elections Committee, the Economic Expansion & Infrastructure Council and the Policy & Budget Council. It is currently in the Ethics and Elections Committee but has yet to be placed on any agenda.
SB 2726 by Senator Paula Dockery (R, 15) is another bill the League is supporting this Session. This bill would allow voters registered in the State of Florida as "no party affiliation" to vote in the Presidential Primary. The bill would go into effect in 2009 and will not affect the current Presidential Race. The League supports this bill because it is consistent with the League's principles of expanding access for voters.
SB 2726 was passed favorably by the Ethics and Elections committee on April 8th by a 5 to 1 vote. Senator Constantine (R, 22) was the only vote in opposition. Jeanne Zokovitch (LWVF) and Ben Wilcox (Common Cause) spoke in favor of the bill. There was some discussion as to whether the political parties would object to this type of primary. The bill is next slotted to go to the Judiciary Committee.
SB 2726's companion bill is HB 1189 by Rep. Rick Kriseman (D, 53) has been
referred to Ethics &Elections and the Economic Expansion and Infrastructure
Council but has not been agendaed as of yet. The League spoke in support of these measures at a press conference some weeks ago.
Also in the April 8
th, Ethics and Election Committee, Rivers Buford from the
Secretary of State's office gave a report on progress in ridding the state of touch
screen machines. He said that they are working with the technical staffs of
counties, and the process is going smoothly. He said that all counties would
have the machines needed and certified in time for August voting. Some of the
Sequoia machines are being kept for use by disabled voters.
Senator Constantine asked about SB 866; Buford stated that LWVF and Common Cause had met with the Secretary of State and Division of Elections staff and discussed concerns the two groups have. They were also in contact with Attorney Mark Herron on some of these issues. Sen. Constantine stated that if there is an impasse on SB 866, a new bill will be presented, and that it is incumbent to work on SB 866. Jeanne has remained in contact with the Secretary's office in the hopes that they will hope that he will consider some of our suggested changes.
HB 1201 was heard this week in the House Ethics and Elections bill. This bill, known as the Secretary of State's election reform package, appears to largely be a tightening up of various election systems. Included in this bill is language which regards the petition and petition revocation processes.
League volunteer legislative advocate and board member, Marilynn Wills, attended the meeting. However, because the lengthy bill was unveiled only the night before and it was clear that the League had little traction with this committee; the League decided it would wait and attempt to reform this bill at later stops and on the Senate side. The bill passed out of the Ethics and Elections Committee with 2 amendments by a unanimous vote on
March 13th.
The bill was on the Economic Expansion and Infrastructure Committee's agenda for Friday, April 11
th and passed as a CS by a 10 to 4 vote. League Legislative Advocate, Jeanne Zokovitch, spoke against the bill pointing out a list of 8 issues that need to be addressed to not negatively affect voters. The only other group who spoke against was the association of Florida supervisors. Those Representatives voting against the bill were Bucher (D, 88), Cusack (D, 27), Fitzgerald (D, 69), and Reed (D, 59).
The Secretary of State was present and spoke on the bill. The Secretary and his staff again spoke with Jeanne after the meeting indicating that they would be meeting over the next few days to review our suggested changes.
A Senate companion has not yet been identified but SB 866 by Senator
Constantine (R, 22) is a shell bill which has been identified as the likely vehicle for these issues. SB 866 was on the Senate Ethics & Elections Committee agenda on Tuesday, March 11th but was temporarily passed without language or discussion. Marilynn was also present at this meeting. Further, we have been told that these bills will become the "kitchen sink" and that we should expect to see more negative amendments to it as it moves forward including significant restrictions on the petition process being again advocated by the Chamber of Commerce and Senator Posey (R, 24). SB 866 was taken up in the April 1st E&E meeting and was passed as a CS by a 5 to 2 vote. Senators Justice (D, 16) and Rich (D, 34) voted against this bill.
League lobbyist, Jeanne Zokovitch, spoke to the committee saying once again here we are with a strike everything amendment of 50+ pages being revealed only the day before the committee meeting and the bill being held out as a simple "clean up" bill by the Secretary of State includes provisions which would have significant effects on elections and petitions.
The League expressed concerns as follows: voter id issues related to the same issues in last year's HB 547, tweaks to the law regarding challenging voters that do not address voter caging – a system being used to challenge voters without knowledge by the
voter making it difficult for the voters to address the issue, a provision that makes it easier for people to revoke the signature from petitions, a provision that would make bundling of petitions even like petitions illegal and more. Within an hour of the testimony and statements by Chairman Constantine asking that the Secretary of State to reach out to groups like the League that have problems with the bill before the next stop, Jeanne was requested to meet with the Secretary and his staff the next day to discuss concerns.
Jeanne went with LWVF VP Marilynn Wills and Ben Wilcox Tallahassee League
Member and Director of Common Cause, Florida and laid out our concerns. After
much discussion the League, Common Cause and the Secretary agreed to
consider where and how we might meet on some of these issues and communication is continuing. The bill will next go to Judiciary but is not on their agenda for next Tuesday. See new discussion about SB 866 above.
Election reform received a powerful push this week due to US Senator Bill Nelson's call for election reform. He told the Florida Senate on March 27th, that "our [Florida's] election system is broken." While the Senator discussed doing away with the Electoral College and amending the primary system, he also stated that he is planning on filing federal legislation to encourage secure internet and mail-in voting. The League believes Senator Nelson's remarks may light a fire under current election legislation and hopefully align election reform with some of the League's priorities.
The Moderator
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TWO ACTION ALERTS: March 12, 2008
Concerned voters everywhere:
This is a double alert:
1) Support the statewide action of Verified Voting and the Florida Voters Coalition below. Passage of this bill for the November, 2008 election will set a needed precedent for other states across America.
2) Contribute to SAFE at www.safevote.org for our final legal battle at the Florida Supreme Court May 7, 2008 to press for PRE-certification audits. That is the next step for the Florida Voters Coalition, after they achieve the more doable post-certification audits this year. We must keep the pressure on the state legislature to do the right thing, and must keep home rule in matters of elections so counties can add protections for voters if the state fails to do so.
Kindra Muntz, President
Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections (SAFE)
Co-Founder, Florida Voters Coalition
Member, VoteTrustUSA Leaders Group
safevote@comcast.net
www.safevote.org
941.497.1764
--- Original Message -----
From:Verified Voting
To:kindra2@comcast.net
Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 10:29 PM
Subject: Support Post-Election Audits for Florida in 2008!
Dear Kindra,
We need your help today to ensure verified elections in Florida. Verified Voting is proud to join the Florida Voters Coalition in support of State Senate Bill 2544 and House Bill 1521. SB 2544 and HB 1521 would verify the vote by requiring hand counted audits of enough ballots to be confident that computer vote tallies determined the correct winner.
Click here to send a message to your legislators, Governor Crist, Lieutenant Govenor Kottkamp, and Secretary of State Browning in support of SB 2544 and HB 1521.
Florida took an important step toward trustworthy elections by adopting paper ballot voting systems, but to achieve secure and verified elections, a sample of paper ballots must be hand counted to audit computer vote tallies. SB 2544 and HB1521 will ensure strong audits and other important security safeguards.
With your help, Florida will become a state the nation can look to and say, "That's how to make an election trustworthy."
Thank you for taking a moment to support verified elections in Florida, and for all you do.
Best regards,
The Team at Verified Voting
GREAT ARTICLE, FEBRUARY 22, 2008: It could be time to reinvent the elections office
See the great article below in today's Pelican Press. Thanks to Anne Johnson and special thanks to Rick Barry who published the article last week about the pending FDLE investigation.
We need a Supervisor of Elections who does not think she is above the law, and who runs the office with verified elections open to public scrutiny.
PLEASE CONTRIBUTE now to SAFE for our appeal to the Florida Supreme Court to reinstate our County Charter Amendment and the mandatory random audits of election results all voters need. Click on
http://www.safevote.org/html/contribute.html.
We must raise the last $10,000 immediately. We go to court May 7th in Tallahassee.
Kindra Muntz, President
Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections (SAFE)
Co-Founder, Florida Voters Coalition
Member, VoteTrustUSA Leaders Group
safevote@comcast.net
www.safevote.org
941.497.1764
Web Site: http://pelicanpress.org/main.asp?SectionID=132&SubSectionID=244&ArticleID=4753
Contact: ajohnson@jcpgroup.com
It could be time to reinvent the elections office
The investigation of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement into a pair of possible felony violations of election law by Sarasota County Election Supervisor Kathy Dent is just the latest in a series of misadventures that call into question the need for an elected official to run the elections office.
In these days of downsizing and outsourcing, of "reinventing government" and "alternative business models," here's an idea: abolish the elected office of elections supervisor. Put the office under a bureaucrat reporting to the county administrator.
Supporters of Dent will say, "We need somebody to listen to the voice of the people." We'd say Dent's tenure has been one of ignoring the voice of the people.
Following the 2006 fiasco of 18,000 "undervotes" in a race eventually won by a mere 369 votes, Dent refused to consider her touchscreens had anything to do with the outcome. Despite an investigation by Congress, we still don't know what happened to the "undervotes." Despite the fact that, during early voting, some voters complained they marked their ballot on the touch screen but nothing happened. No X marked the spot, despite repeated "touches."
When county voters began circulating petitions to replace touchscreens with a system with a "paper trail" to allow auditing, the supervisor of elections resisted mightily.
When the petitioners gathered enough signatures to put the question on the ballot, she allowed county "informational materials" supporting touchscreens inside the polling places on the day the issue was decided. Atop the registration desk where every voter had to check in. One voter complained to Dent, but the complaint was somehow "lost." The voter followed up with a criminal complaint, hence the FDLE investigation.
When Sarasota voters overwhelmingly decided to scrap the touchscreens, Dent then led a lawsuit fighting the measure's essential audit requirements which she - and the county commission - are still waging at public expense. All the way to the Florida Supreme Court.
The integrity of elections is too important to be left to partisan politicians. People are willing to fight and die for fair elections, as they are doing in Kenya, Pakistan and Iraq among many other places. Must it come to that in Sarasota County?
In a perfect world - already achieved in other Florida counties - the election supervisor is a bureaucrat who works for the county administrator. A non-partisan official, who never takes campaign contributions, never runs in a partisan election, or has any relationship with party politics. That would require a change to the county's charter, need a petition drive, campaign contributions, vigorous debate and eventually an election.
Can you imagine Dent presiding over an election to eliminate her $115,490 job? In the meantime, we have seven more elections coming up this year. We must have a high level of confidence in the sanctity of our votes and polling places. It's time for reinvention.
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