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State Urges Uniform Voting

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By CATHERINE DOLINSKI

cdolinski@tampatrib.com

Published: October 11, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - Pinellas County will allow some new voters to resolve problems with their registrations at the polls, despite the state's warnings that it could trigger legal challenges.
Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning on Friday urged all county elections supervisors to follow the state's plan for verifying new voters whose applications fail an ID check.

"One of the big issues that Florida has faced since the 2000 election has been the issue of uniformity," Browning said in a conference call, adding, "I have a responsibility, as do you have a responsibility, to uphold the laws of Florida."

But, as Browning acknowledged, exactly how to implement the laws remains up to the supervisors.

His remarks responded to Pinellas Elections Supervisor Deborah Clark's decision to allow unverified voters to resolve problems with their registration at the polls on Election Day if the problem resulted from an error on the government's part.

The state's "no-match, no vote" law requires identification numbers on voter applications to match the state's database. Unmatched voters must prove who they are before voting.

If they can't, they may cast provisional ballots, but their votes will not count if they cannot prove who they are by 5 p.m. on Nov. 6, two days after Election Day.

Browning clarified that voters can go to their elections supervisor's office as late as Election Day and prove who they are. If verified, they can vote by absentee ballot or return to the polls to vote.

That's not good enough, said Clark, who does not want to turn unverified voters away from the polls if the nonmatch is not their fault. If a Pinellas voter can prove his or her application was correct, the precinct clerk will phone Clark's office to activate the voter's registration on-the-spot. "I feel the state has gone way beyond ... the intent of the law," she said.

The state cannot force counties to follow the state's procedures, said Jennifer Krell Davis, spokeswoman for Browning. But any county that acts differently opens itself - and its election results - to legal challenges, she said.

If Clark goes her own way, "There will be consequences, but not from us," Davis said. "She's going to have to answer to the electorate."

Clark said she followed the same plan last election cycle. She is not worried about lawsuits, she said, "because I think this is the intent of the law."

Reporter Catherine Dolinski can be reached at (850) 222-8382.

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