Reply #5: FL: Millions of Dollars found For New Voting Equipment [View All]

[livvy]

May 2, 2007 10:10 pm US/Eastern
Millions Of Dollars Found For New Voting Equipment
Touch Screen Voting Machine Bill Comes To A Head

Michele Gillen
Reporting

(CBS4) TALLAHASSEE It’s not everyday that you find millions of dollars, but that’s exactly what happened Wednesday with millions of dollars to help our state’s voting system.

The US Election Assistance Commission will allow Florida to use federal funds to replace the state's touch-screen voting machines with a verifiable paper-trail system. Until now, there was concern that the state would have to dish out all the money to revamp its voting system.

The Florida Legislature is on the verge of passing an elections bill that calls for the use of nearly $28 million dollars in federal funds to replace touch-screen voting machines used in 15 counties. But until yesterday, state lawmakers and Florida's Secretary of State did not know for sure whether they could rely on federal money from the Help America Vote Act. It appears that the state had federal money all along that was supposed to pay for a fix to the 2000 hanging chad debacle.

The Election Assistance Commission said during a public hearing in Washington that it would permit the use of federal funds.

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http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_122194001.html