Supervisor says voters apparently just not interested in voting in the Sarasota Congressional elect

[helderheid]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Phillip Windham
Date: Nov 9, 2006 8:09 AM
Subject: Supervisor says voters apparently just not interested in voting in the Sarasota Congressional election
To:

In FL, Electronic Voting Shortfall Raises Eyebrows
By Paul Kiel - November 8, 2006, 11:03 AM

A recount battle is brewing, fittingly, in Katherine Harris' old seat, where a voting shortfall on buggy electronic voting machines is calling the election results into doubt.

From The Herald Tribune:

Republican Vern Buchanan was clinging to a 368-vote edge over Democrat Christine Jennings for the 13th Congressional District early this morning.

Although Buchanan declared victory just before 1 a.m., the razor-thin margin kept Jennings from conceding defeat and will generate an automatic recount....

The results were loaded with controversy as nearly 13 percent of all ballots cast in Sarasota didn't include a choice for Congress. That difference, and scattered reports of difficulty finding the race on Sarasota's touchscreen ballots, raised concerns about under votes in the race.

Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent couldn't explain why 8,000 to 10,000 fewer people voted in the congressional race than in other high-profile races for governor, attorney general or U.S. Senate. But she said nothing mechanical went wrong with the county's $4.7 million touchscreen voting machine system....

Throughout the day voters complained that touchscreen voting machines were not registering votes for Jennings properly. Jennings campaign held a midday press conference to warn the problem was widespread....

Already Democrats were calling in lawyers from the Democratic National Committee to weigh in on the potential voting issues....

In Sarasota County, with all but one precinct reporting, 87,797 people voted for Bill Nelson, Katherine Harris or another candidate for U.S. Senate. In the governor race between Charlie Crist and Jim Davis, 87,678 county resident voted.

Only 76,549 voted for Jennings or Buchanan. In comparison, about 3,000 more people voted in the Sarasota Public Hospital Board election.

But a similar undervote was not recorded in other counties that voted in the District 13 race.

[aquart]

1. Uh huh.

Whatever could have happened, do you suppose?

[helderheid]

2. fascinatin' ain't it?