Broward voters won't be able to double-check ballot with printout

By Buddy Nevins     South Florida Sun-Sentinel   December 13 2005

 
A printer that can be attached to Broward County voting machines and provide a "paper trail" has been invented and built and is ready to be installed, but it will be months, possibly years, before the state allows voters to use it.

Called the Real Time Audit Log, the printers attach to Broward's 6,800 ?Votronic touch screen machines and would create a written record of the votes cast on each machine.

Almost from the moment the computerized machines were introduced in Florida in 2002, many voters have been skeptical of their reliability and security. U. S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, has sued in federal court stating that the inability of the touch screen machines in 15 counties to provide a printed record violates the equal protection clause of the U. S. Constitution, because 52 other Florida counties have optical scanners that use paper that can be manually recounted.

To answer its critics, voting machine manufacturer Election Systems & Software spent at least two years developing a printer to go with its ?Votronic in use in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Russ Klenet, the lobbyist for Election Systems & Software in Broward, began showing the new printer to county officials this month in an attempt to drum up interest.

A roll of paper in each printer is locked and sealed behind a glass window. Every vote is recorded on the paper, and the voter can view the record through the glass.

If a voter decides to change a vote before leaving the booth, the device prints that the first vote has been canceled and replaces it with the new vote.

Only a poll clerk with a key can open the machine.

"It's totally secure," said Jill Friedman, spokeswoman for the company. Pete Corwin, assistant to the county administrator, got a peak at the printer Monday and said it seemed to satisfy voters' and county commissioners' demands for a paper record of the electronic voting.

"The voter can see what the machine is recording," Corwin said. "The printer seems to work quickly, and it appears it can be used in a recount."

Broward Election Supervisor Brenda Snipes said, "It'll work. The concept is good, and it creates a verifiable paper record."

There are some drawbacks, said the two Broward officials.

Corwin said the written record can't be read by the visually impaired, and he didn't know how this could be solved. Snipes said the current version of the printer may be too bulky for poll workers to handle easily.

County Commissioner John Rodstrom said ever since the electronic ATM-like machines were introduced in Broward in 2002, voters have been skeptical of the system's lack of a printed record.

"It's like a black box," Rodstrom said. "There is no written accountability, no way to recount the votes."

Rodstrom warned the price for the new printers would be an issue.

Each printer would cost approximately $1,000, or a total price tag of $6.8 million, Klenet said.

The printer was certified by the federal government in October. That allows the device to be sold in many states, but Florida's state Elections Division has its own certification process to ensure machines are secure and usable.

Friedman said the company will "gauge the response of our customers" before applying for Florida certification. The certification process could take more than a year.

About 40,000 ESS ?Votronic's are in use worldwide, but not in Palm Beach County. It uses machines sold by a rival company, Sequoia Voting Systems, which has already applied for state certification for its printer.

The certification process of the Sequoia device has been under way most of this year. If there are no problems, the Sequoia printer could be certified next year.

Corwin said it would take a rewrite of state law for the printer to be allowed in election recounts. Broward and Snipes are requesting that the 2006 Legislature make that change.