Fla. court rules on provisional ballots

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS   18 October 2004
   
 TALLAHASSEE, Fla. People who cast a provisional ballot at the wrong precinct are not entitled to have their votes counted, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday, rejecting an argument by labor unions that the rule wrongly disenfranchises voters.

In a unanimous ruling, the court said the law clearly states that provisional ballots must be counted only if the person was entitled to vote "at the precinct," and that the constitution gives the Legislature the authority to dictate voting rules.

Under Florida law, if voters show up at a polling place but officials there have no record they are registered, they are given provisional ballots. Those ballots are then held until officials determine if the persons were entitled to vote at that precinct and had not already voted.

If they should have been allowed to vote at that precinct, the ballots count; if not, they are thrown out.

But a group of labor unions sued over the ballot law, saying it unconstitutionally disenfranchised voters who may not know their polling place. They argued that many people have new polling places because of redistricting, may have moved, or may have been displaced by a hurricane.

The court disagreed, saying that requiring provisional voters vote at the correct precinct is no more unreasonable than requiring that everyone else vote at the right polling place.

Meanwhile, a state judge in Colorado on Monday upheld a new requirement that voters must produce identification before being allowed to vote.

District Judge Morris B. Hoffman said the voter identification requirement serves a valid purpose, and Congress has insisted states crack down on voter fraud.

  
 
Also Monday, Hoffman overturned a rule that prevented voters who request provisional ballots on Election Day from voting if they had earlier requested an absentee ballot.

Hoffman ruled those voters may cast provisional ballots at their precincts if they swear they did not turn in the absentee ballot. Before counting the provisional ballot, election officials would have to confirm that the person had indeed voted legally.

Pete Maysmith, program director of the plaintiff public interest group Common Cause, said he was disappointed by the ID ruling, which he warned could reduce voter turnout, but had not decided whether to appeal.

He called the absentee-ballot ruling "a terrific victory" that will allow more Coloradans to vote.