Thousands in Florida may be surprised they can't vote Nov. 2

BRENDAN FARRINGTON

Associated Press  01 October 2004

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Potentially tens of thousands of people who think they are registered to vote could be turned away at the polls Nov. 2 because their voter registration forms weren't completely filled out.

Secretary of State Glenda Hood said some groups registering voters are turning in application forms missing information, such as unchecked boxes asking whether applicants are citizens, mentally incompetent or felons.

Also, she said the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating claims that some groups turned in fraudulent application forms or switched people's party registration without telling them.

A group seeking copies of the incomplete applications in an effort to help people complete them said some counties turned over thousands of forms until Hood's office informed supervisors state law prohibits them from handing out copies of voter records except to specified groups, such as political committees and parties. Now the Washington-based Advancement Project isn't receiving any of the forms and fears thousands of people won't be able to vote.

"Clearly, way over the number that could determine the election," said Judith Browne, a lawyer with the group, which promotes multiracial participation in the democratic process. She was referring to President Bush's disputed 537-vote victory in Florida that gave him the presidency in 2000.

During that election, state and local election officials were criticized for a whole host of issues, from people mistakenly removed from voter rolls to the infamous "butterfly ballot" in Palm Beach County which may have confused voters, leading them to vote for third-party candidate Pat Buchanan instead of Al Gore.

While the Advancement Project is not registering voters itself, it assists groups that are, including America's Families United, which tries to register voters in poor and minority communities.

America's Families United is suing the Duval County elections supervisor to get copies of 1,441 rejected applications there. Browne said a judge ruled against it Friday. Previously, the Advancement Project received copies of forms from Miami-Dade, Orange, Hillsborough and other counties. In Miami-Dade and Broward alone, Browne said 12,000 incomplete ballots were turned in.

"It seems like every time that we try to take steps to help voters to make sure they get on the rolls and to make sure they are protected, the state and the counties put obstacles in the way," said Browne.

Acting Duval elections supervisor Richard Carlberg said his office is trying to call the 1,441 applicants to let them know they won't be able to vote unless the forms are completed, but said many of the phone numbers on the forms aren't working numbers.

Hood said her office is only trying to help elections supervisors follow the law and that incomplete forms must be rejected.

Hood recommended that people who were registered by a group instead of at their county elections office check to make sure they were actually registered. She also said anyone registering to vote outside a county office should double check to make sure all information is accurate, forms are completely filled out and that the group plans to turn the applications in before midnight Monday.

"We want to make sure that every eligible voter is registered on time, has complete information on those forms so that they can cast their vote," Hood said.

"Beware and make sure you are providing all the information. Check over it, double check before you sign it and make sure you have a guarantee that it's going to be turned in so you are able to vote."

She said someone in her office was registered by the League of Women Voters months ago and just recently double checked and found out the application wasn't turned in.

Many people could show up at the polls and be told they can't vote, Hood said. She acknowledged that some people will try to blame her office.

"We recognize there are always going to be individuals out there that are going to throw bricks, who are going to try to erode voter confidence. That is most unfortunate," she said. "Our responsibility is to make sure that we protect the integrity of the voting process and that we work in partnership with our supervisors to do so."