Associated Press: Florida bill aims to cure balloting woes, streamline counts

04.22.2019 / By ELLIS RUA
Associated Press: Florida bill aims to cure balloting woes, streamline counts

Liza McClenaghan of government watchdog group Common Cause Florida said lawmakers should mandate what are called risk-limiting audits prior to the certification of election results. “This gives more confidence to the election process as observed by the voters,” McClenaghan said.

MIAMI (AP) — Florida lawmakers are considering several measures to address the state’s long documented election woes.

Problems with ballot counting – from the controversial 2000 presidential election to the 2018 statewide election – prompted Spring Hill Republican Rep. Blaise Ingoglia and two House committees to draft a bill to streamline the absentee balloting schedule.

One bill aims to streamline the absentee balloting schedule and require more training for verifying ballot signatures. …

Liza McClenaghan of government watchdog group Common Cause Florida said lawmakers should mandate what are called risk-limiting audits prior to the certification of election results.

These audits — already implemented in Rhode Island, Virginia and Colorado — require poll workers to manually spot-check portions of the ballot and audit trail, and use statistical analysis to detect anomalies in the vote tally.

“This gives more confidence to the election process as observed by the voters,” McClenaghan said.

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