Problems Reported in County Election System  (FL)

Lindsay Cohen    CBS12     27 June 2008

They argued it would test the waters. They said it would be a trial run.

But what elections officials probably didn't expect was that the trial run would come with some serious speed bumps: nearly 700 of them.

"Well, now we know [the election] wasn't really as successful as we had really hoped," said Rebecca Young, a candidate in Tuesday's special election. "If this is what happens in one municipal election, we've got a lot of work to do between now and even August, much less November."

On Friday, officials learned that nearly 700 of the almost 4,800 ballots cast in Tuesday's special election for city commission weren't initially counted. That's nearly 20 percent of the votes.

The error was due to three cartridges at five different precincts, officials said. The cartridges were "suspended" and the votes weren't counted.

An audit Thursday brought the error to light.

"This is just one of those happenings that occur when you're trying or testing something for the first time," said Dr. Arthur Anderson, Supervisor of Elections for Palm Beach County.

Voters expressed skepticism with the voting process and pointed to the county's history with errors.

"It just sickens me to the point where, you know, I'm young; you know, my voice doesn't even matter anymore," said voter Kendra Hans. "I'm to the point where I don't know what else to do."

"You would think they would have fixed this last time, and it's not fixed," said voter Joe Jurban. "So, yeah, it definitely does surprise me."

Tuesday's election marked the first time the county tried out the new optical scan voting machines. They replace the touch screen machines, which cost the county nearly $20 million dollars several years ago. The touch-screens were ruled unreliable because authorities discovered they could be hacked into.

The touch screen machines had replaced the notorious butterfly ballot, which held up the results of the 2000 presidential election.

Anderson says he's glad to face any problems with the new voting machines well in advance of this year's presidential race.

"You either have two types of errors: technological or human," he said. "We will greatly have reduced any possibility for either by way of this experience."