TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

House Panel Votes To Close Election Probe

ADVERTISEMENT

By MITCH STACY, The Associated Press

Published: February 9, 2008

Updated: 02/09/2008 12:11 am

WASHINGTON - A House task force voted Friday to end an investigation into a disputed 2006 Florida congressional election after extensive testing showed that touch-screen voting machines likely worked properly.

Democrat Christine Jennings called for the congressional investigation after she lost the District 13 seat to Republican Vern Buchanan by 369 votes. She suggested Sarasota County's touch-screen voting machines were to blame for the more than 18,000 ballots that did not register a choice in the contest.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office, which conducted extensive testing of Sarasota County machines last year, said it was satisfied that votes were counted properly, however.

It's more likely, the investigative arm of Congress said, that voters skipped the race on the ballot, either intentionally or by mistake.

"The results are as clear as we can objectively expect," said Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., one of the three members of the Committee on House Administration task force.

The recommendation still must be approved by the entire committee and the House. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, D-Texas, the task force chairman, said that could happen as early as next week.

Jennings is running against Buchanan again this year. She noted that even though she lost the protest, her efforts led in part to the Florida Legislature voting to get rid of touch-screen machines in favor of optical-scan machines that leave a paper trail.

"I accept and respect the decision by the House Administration task force regarding the results of the 2006 election," she said.

Hayden Dempsey, an attorney for Buchanan, called the committee's decision "a victory for democracy and for the people of the 13th Congressional District."

The machine's manufacturer, Election Systems & Software, said this and other reviews "demonstrate that Sarasota County's voting system performed exactly as it was designed to function."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT