Joe Henderson
With a new administration about to take over in Tallahassee, it would be a good time to make major changes to the way Florida elections are conducted. That is, of course, unless lawmakers enjoy being mocked on national television like they were last month.
It wouldn’t be that hard to do, either. A couple of simple fixes by the Secretary of State would help immensely.
First, and most obvious, is to require all Florida counties have the most up-to-date equipment to count the votes. That was the problem in Palm Beach County during the highly watched recount for the U.S. Senate race.
Palm Beach was using antiquated equipment – still certified by the state – that was slow and overheated during the recount of the U.S. Senate race. Elections Supervisor Susan Bucher said she put off buying modern equipment because the state hasn’t made policy on how new machines must comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act.
“I don’t think it’s very responsible to spend $11.1 million on new equipment that’s not going to be viable in 2020,” Bucher told the Palm Beach Post.
It might be a good idea, then, for the state to quickly focus on that policy while also decertifying the current voting equipment in Palm Beach – in case anyone is tempted to use the duct tape solution for one more election.
The state also should standardize where instructions, which are printed in multiple languages, are placed on the ballot. It currently allows for them to be placed in the center, left or right side of the ballot. Why is that an issue?
In Broward, nearly 31,000 voters did not pick a candidate in the U.S. Senate race that Rick Scott won over Bill Nelson by 10,033 votes overall. Nelson supporters said the ballot design in Broward may have caused many of those voters to overlook the race.
The design complied with state law but going forward there needs to be one standard for all counties to follow, and this is the time to make those changes.
Actually, one big change has already been made that should improve Broward’s woeful elections track record. On his way out of Tallahassee, Scott summarily replaced embattled elections supervisor Brenda Snipes with Republican and Scott loyalist Pete Antonacci.
The way the move was handled did seem petty though, given that Snipes had already announced her intention to resign at the end of the year. But Scott has shown he can be a vindictive man when he wants to be – and after this election controversy, he wanted to be.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, which endorsed Snipes’ opponent in her last election, said of the action, “… instead of taking the high road, he demonstrated spite toward a public servant at the end of her career.”
Florida elections are always going to attract a great deal of national scrutiny, and from the look of things statewide races will continue being split down the middle. There were recounts in the races for Governor, U.S. Senate, and Agriculture Commissioner.
Complicating matters was Scott’s unsubstantiated bellowing that “unethical liberals” were resorting to fraud to “steal the election.”
And, of course, Tweeter-in-Chief Donald Trump chimed in with a baseless claim that “large numbers of new ballots are showing up out of nowhere” so, obviously, there must be rampant voter fraud.
It’s not a good look for the state to have that kind of charge making the rounds in Twittersphere, even though everyone knows Trump tends to fire off at the lip without a lot of forethought to the damage he is causing.
In the usual tight Florida elections, time becomes the enemy as the results drag out and conspiracy theories take hold. Speedy returns with top-of-line equipment and standardized ballot designs are the best way to minimize post-Election Day drama.
