Hood has failed voters, but a judge can step in

By Palm Beach Post Editorial

Monday, October 18, 2004

Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood must be wishing for a blowout in the Nov. 2 presidential election. Despite four years to get ready, the Division of Elections has failed to prepare for a repeat of 2000's micro-close race. A federal judge will be asked today to oversee balloting in the 15 counties that have switched to touch-screen voting. The prospect of election turmoil demands that U.S. District Judge James Cohn take that step.

Judge Cohn will be hearing the first arguments in the lawsuit by U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Delray Beach, over the state's inability to conduct a manual recount on touch-screen machines, as required by Florida law. Rep. Wexler first filed suit in state court seven months ago. Ms. Hood, whom Gov. Bush appointed, has been trying to have the suit dismissed ever since. Rep. Wexler charges that the state has failed to meet the U.S. Supreme Court standard for equal protection because not all Florida voters have an equal chance to have discarded ballots examined by hand. When Rep. Wexler filed his suit, he hoped that it would encourage the state to allow for a voter-confirmed paper trail, as instituted in Nevada and ordered for California. A paper trail, which has problems of its own, never received the public debate it deserved. Now that the suit is being heard, it's too late for this election.

Ms. Hood's response to the call for manual recounts on touch screens was to tell elections supervisors to do nothing because ballot images that reflect what the machine counted would not help determine voter intent. A court rejected that option. Now, she wants supervisors to review the ballot images. Since voters don't confirm the ballot image before leaving the voting booth, that approach lends the system no credibility.

And that's the issue: making voters believe in the election results. Where Ms. Hood's partisan approach has failed, a judge can succeed. Late as it is, Judge Cohn can order deputies to make sure that the 15 counties, including Palm Beach and Martin, check the number of voters against the number of votes recorded. His deputies could give voters more confidence that supervisors are subjecting touch screens to rigorous pre-election testing and that election night tabulations are accurate.

Judge Cohn can't do all of what the state couldn't accomplish in four years. But he has to try. If the election is close, voters and even Ms. Hood will be glad he did.