The election reform bill to be signed by the Governor on Monday, May 21st could usher in a new era of open and verifiable elections in Florida. Governor Charlie Crist and Florida State Senators and Representatives should be applauded for their efforts.
The bill should go farther next year to strengthen audit provisions, lengthen the time for certification of elections in Florida, and require paper ballots immediately for all voters, including the disabled, but for now, it is a huge step in the right direction toward verified elections in Florida.
More work needs to be done in the 2008 legislative session to correct amendments tacked on to the 80-page bill at the last minute, such as
- the petition revocation provision. With this provision, citizens could be bullied into revoking petitions they have signed.
- fines on third-party registrations. This will inhibit legitimate voter registration efforts by worthy organizations.
- the effort to weaken the Ethics Committee of the State. Legitimate complaints may be overlooked or suppressed. We need continual attention to hold people to the highest ethical standards, nothing less. Our democracy is at stake.
Overall, the good portions of the bill outweigh the bad. This bill brings light to the Sunshine State. Elected officials across Florida should move forward positively to implement it and make it succeed. It is time for verified elections in Florida.
MORE THANKS
Many people deserve credit for bringing us to this point in election reform. I mentioned some in my last email. Hundreds of people have worked hard and are still working on these critical issues in Florida and across the nation. Forgive me if I use a lot of superlatives: these people are all superlative.
I want to acknowledge a few “prime movers” in the verified voting movement in Florida, and some of those carrying the effort forward.
Rosemarie Myerson, who sparked my initial concern about Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) touch screen voting machines in February, 2004. Rosemarie continues to be an articulate spokesperson, researcher, and champion for paper ballots, optical scanners, and mandatory audits.
Richard Myerson, who worked with Rosemarie to produce compelling cost analyses showing the cost savings of optical scanners over DREs. Both Myersons have served ably on the SAFE Board of Directors and continue their outstanding work in the community, along with current SAFE Board members Susette Bryan, Elaine Foster, Sue Augustinowicz and Walt Augustinowicz.
Special mention should be given to independent filmmakers Jeannie Dean and Len Schmiege, who have tirelessly documented developments on the voting issue in Florida, including the Dec. 3, 2006 REVOTE RALLY in Sarasota County (see. www.safevote.org.) attended by over 700 people, and to Tom Penzone, SAFE webmaster, who has devoted countless hours to highlighting the rapidly changing developments in Sarasota.
Bill Faulkner, who encouraged me to attend the first Verified Voting Lobby Days in Washington, D.C. in 2004 along with Charles Smith of Holmes County, Nancy Jacobson of Orange County, and Ellen Brodsky of Broward County. Bill became the Volunteer State Representative for VerifiedVoting.org and has worked continuously on the voting integrity issue from Pensacola as a “citizen activist”. He organized an election reform rally in Tallahassee this year, and lobbied our state Senators and Representatives along with Charles Smith. He and activist Bill Bucolo in Pinellas County help spread the word to individuals and organizations across the state.
Ellen Brodsky, who attended the Washington Lobby Days in 2004, 2005 and 2006, and who organized the Broward County “Computer Ate My Vote” press rally in 2004, then created the Broward Election Reform Coalition and the Election Reform listserv, which continues to this day as a powerful educational tool for verified voting in Florida, with regular contributors such as Karen Landers of Polk County and Joyce McCloy of North Carolina. Ellen is an invaluable resource for information about election procedures and statistical studies, as a former elections clerk in Broward County, and has helped people in various counties, including Sarasota. Thank you, Ellen, for your ongoing help.
Susan Pynchon, Executive Director of the Florida Fair Elections Coalition (FFEC), who along with Anita Lapidus, Legal Counsel, Kitty Garber, Research Director, A.J. Devies, and Beeg Camerota, Administrative Director, coordinated the first Election Reform Conference in Florida in November, 2005, and several statewide election reform conferences since then. I also mentioned Susan’s outstanding contributions to the Sarasota effort in my last email.
Vince Lipsio, nationally recognized firmware engineer, computer expert and member of the IEEE, IEEE-SA (Standards Association), and ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) from Gainesville, who has been a valuable resource of technical information for our SAFE petition initiative and ongoing efforts.
Anthony Lorenzo, who started the original SAFE yahoo group, and sparked the idea of the citizen petition initiative to alert the public and elected officials to the problems of DRE touchscreen voting. Anthony continues to advocate Instant Runoff Voting, which will be on the ballot in November, 2007 in the City of Sarasota. IRV is being adopted by cities around the country as they seek majority rule, cost savings for runoff elections, and increased voter turnout.
Clint Curtis, outstanding computer programmer, who testified before Congress, then demonstrated his prototype program for hacking elections to the first statewide conference on election reform in Kissimmee, Florida, in November, 2005, sponsored by the Florida Fair Elections Coalition. Clint demonstrated his program to the Sarasota County Commissioners in Sarasota County on January 10, 2006, the day after the formation of the Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections (SAFE) PAC. He later became a candidate for U.S. Representative in District 24, among other reasons, to highlight the need for verified elections in Florida.
Reggie Mitchell, Legal Director for the Florida People for the American Way (PFAW) Foundation, who champions voters’ rights and verified elections and is part of the nonpartisan legal team on behalf of all voters in Sarasota County seeking access to the touchscreen DRE voting machines used in Sarasota County in the November, 2006 election. Reggie has participated in statewide election reform conferences and rallies and lobbied the state legislature on behalf of key election reform measures, including paper ballots and restoration of ex-felon voting rights.
Lida Rodriguez-Taseff, former Chair of the Miami-Dade Election Reform Coalition (MDERC), whose pioneering work and comprehensive studies paved the way for reform of Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) touchscreen voting machines in the state, and whose MDERC members and current President and Legislative Chair Sandy Wayland, continue to press Florida officials for voting machines that will serve the needs of all voters, including language minorities who comprise a significant portion of the voters in Miami-Dade and other counties.
Howard Simon, Executive Director, ACLU of Florida, a champion of voters’ rights and a prime mover, Coalition Partner and supporter of the Florida Voters Coalition. The ACLU legal team, headed by Rebecca Steele in Tampa, is part of the nonpartisan lawsuit on behalf of all voters in Sarasota County, seeking access to the voting machines, software and firmware used in the November, 2006 election, along with Reggie Mitchell of PFAW, John Bonifaz of Voter Action and Matt Zimmerman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Ben Wilcox, Executive Director, Common Cause, Florida, who has lobbied full time in Tallahassee on behalf of the voters of Florida.
Ion Sancho, Supervisor of Elections, Leon County, Florida, whose outstanding service, courage, integrity and helpfulness on behalf of Florida’s voters are models for election officials statewide and nationwide. Ion, we owe you our eternal gratitude.
GOING FORWARD
A growing number of Florida election reform organizations in coalition with other state and national organizations are continuing the process of education about electronic voting with county and state officials and the public. The Florida Voters Coalition (FVC) has formed around six key measures, some of which have been adopted in the current state election reform bill. These measures can be seen in our 2007 Position Paper. These are the co-founders of the Coalition, who have worked tirelessly to lobby our State Senators and Representatives, our Governor and Secretary of State, and win more coalition partners to our effort:
Dan McCrea, from Miami-Dade County, Florida State Director, Voter Action
Pam Haengel, from Pinellas County, President, Voting Integrity Alliance of Tampa Bay
Susan Pynchon, from Volusia County, Executive Director, Florida Fair Elections Coalition
Kindra Muntz, from Sarasota County, President, Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections
The 2007 FVC Position Paper and the growing list of Coalition Partners can be seen on the FVC website, www.goallthewayflorida.com,
These Coalition Partners represent numerous organizations that have helped educate voters about verified elections.
Contributions are welcome to all these worthy organizations for their ongoing work.
Kindra Muntz
Kindra Muntz, President
Sarasota Alliance for Fair Elections (SAFE)
Co-Founder, Florida Voters Coalition
Member, VoteTrustUSA Leaders Group
941.497.1764