Florida may have to buy computerized voting systems now

[Paul Walmsley <paul@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

yikes!

from
<http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-florida-blind-voters,0,4176373.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines>



- Paul


Blind Must Be Able to Vote Alone in Fla.

By Associated Press

January 14, 2004, 10:08 PM EST

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Blind and physically impaired voters must be 
provided with voting machines that have an audio system that will let them 
vote without assistance, a federal judge said Wednesday.

Senior U.S. District Judge Wayne Alley said in a tentative ruling that the 
Duval County supervisor of elections and the Florida Secretary of State's 
Office were violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 
Rehabilitation Act by not providing such machines.

Alley told the county and the state they have four months to get voting 
equipment with an audio capability and have it ready by the August 2004 
primary. If it can't be done with current machines, the county will have 
to buy new ones, the judge said.

He gave each side 10 days to reply to his tentative ruling, but indicated 
he would make it permanent.

Lawyers for Duval County promised to appeal a final order. They estimated 
that compliance could cost the county between $1 million and $6 million.

Visually and physically impaired voters sued county Supervisor of 
Elections John Stafford in 2001 after he bought optical scan equipment 
from Diebold. Disabled voters said Stafford should have bought a touch 
screen system with voice capabilities to allow them to vote without help.

At least 30 of Florida's 67 counties use optical scan equipment that do 
not have audio capability, but it wasn't known Wednesday if the Duval case 
would affect the other counties, said Jenny Nash, a spokeswoman for the 
Secretary of State's office. Only 15 Florida counties have voting systems 
with audio capability, Nash said.

Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press