A problem with voting

Letter in the Gainsville Sun

September 17. 2004 6:01AM
Within the past few years, due to my work and travel schedule, I have voted absentee ballot without incident.

Now, all of a sudden, on the most recent voting, I received a letter from the supervisor of elections stating, in part, "Your absentee ballot was received by the Supervisor of Elections in time to be counted. However, we are sorry to inform you that the Canvassing Board rejected your ballot because the signature on the ballot did not match the signature we have on file for you at the elections office."

Now, before I can be eligible to vote again, they are requiring me to reapply or "" my registration.

The canvassing board members are listed as Judge Aymer I. Buck Curtin, County Commissioner Penelope Wheat and Supervisor of Elections Beverly Hill. I have been a registered voter for over 30 years now and can't for the life of me remember how I signed my registration way back then.

What criteria did the canvassing board use to compare my signature? Are any of them handwriting experts?

With age, my signature has somewhat deteriorated over the years, but I've been signing my name in the current manner for many years, including when I voted in person.

The subjectivity in which my vote was rejected is ludicrous. In effect, I have been denied my constitutional right to vote.

At least one of the issues on the ballot was passed by a very small margin. I wonder if there were enough rejected ballots to change the outcome.

Elected officials seem to forget who puts them in office. Or perhaps they don't.

Ronnie E. Henley,