Duval County: Touch-screen voting machines won't be ready for election

Associated Press  02 October 2004

 

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Duval County won't have touch-screen voting machines for the disabled in place by the November election, despite a judge's order, election officials said in a court filing.

Not enough time remains to obtain and test the machines as required by law before the election, according to a notice filed Friday with the U.S. District Court.

Also filed was a sworn statement by Assistant Elections Supervisor Dick Carlberg that his office would have had to begin preparations Sept. 25.

U.S. District Judge Henry Adams delivered his order on Sept. 28. The order requires county election officials to install touch-screen voting machines for blind and manually disabled voters who cannot use the county's optical scan machines without help.

Carlberg said the county is required to have all machines tested and ready for early voting beginning Oct. 18.

Ari Rothman, an attorney for the American Association of People with Disabilities, said his organization intends to respond to the filing.

His group argued in court that machines could be in place for the Nov. 2 election.

The ruling stems from a 2001 suit in which three disabled voters sued Elections Supervisor John Stafford, alleging the county's optical scan voting machines didn't allow them to vote independently.

This spring, another federal judge ruled that the county had to make voting machines accessible to blind or handicapped voters in one-fifth of the county's precincts. The order was stayed while elections officials filed an appeal.

Adams said lawyers for the disabled voters provided enough evidence to persuade him to lift the stay.