Miami-Dade County election chief quits amid criticism

Associated Press    01 April 2005

MIAMI - Miami-Dade Elections Supervisor Constance Kaplan, a veteran Chicago election official who was recruited to help the county erase the embarrassing memories of the 2000 presidential election, has resigned amid revelations of voting problems in six elections.

Kaplan, who had worked for the Chicago Board of Elections Commissioners for 33 years before taking over in Miami in June 2003, resigned Thursday effective immediately. Her chief deputy Lester Sola will take her place at least temporarily.

County Manager George Burgess described the decision as mutual after questioning Kaplan about a voting glitch that lost hundreds of ballots in a special election. She blamed a software fluke.

The problem came to light when officials noticed a high number of undervotes in a slot machine referendum March 8. Undervotes are ballots with no recorded votes, and the measure was the only item on the ballot.

The elections department later identified five other municipal elections in West Miami, Bay Harbor Island, Surfside, Golden Beach and Cutler Ridge with high undervotes.

Kaplan said the uncounted votes would not have changed any results. But the pari-mutuel industry, which lost a bid to install slot machines at tracks and jail alai frontons, wrote Burgess on Thursday asking for a new election.

Kaplan blamed human error and said two supervisors have been reassigned.

Before Kaplan quit, Burgess wrote the mayor and county commissioners to say her explanations were "inadequate" and "unacceptable."

Miami-Dade was a focal point for criticism after 28,000 mostly punchcard ballots went uncounted in the 2000 presidential race. President Bush won the state by 537 votes and the presidency after weeks of recounts and legal fighting.