Associated Press: Florida, butt of election jokes, believes system is ready

10.29.2020 / By Terry Spencer
Associated Press: Florida, butt of election jokes, believes system is ready

Liza McClenaghan, chair of Common Cause Florida, said the signature examiners are trained, “so it is not as random as people think. But it is not a court-of-law signature process.”

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Even if the presidential election hinges on a Florida recount like 20 years ago, hanging chads and butterfly ballots won’t be around to trip up voters and officials — changes to ballots, equipment and laws have made the Bush-Gore circus a relic never to be revisited, state elections officials believe.

Though there are other scenarios that make elections officials nervous, the computer punch-card ballots that fueled 2000′s chaos are buried in history’s landfill. Casting valid ballots and processing them is now easier, even before Election Day, and the Legislature has enacted clearer laws governing recounts.

The Associated Press spoke with most of Florida’s 67 county elections supervisors or top aides in recent weeks along with voting rights groups, and they expect the system to run smoothly in the nation’s largest swing state, even with the pandemic. And if the winner’s victory margin is razor thin, recounts in 2018 for governor and U.S. Senate, while not perfect, showed the system works even when candidates, elected officials and their supporters apply pressure. …

Supervisors expect 90% of all ballots will be counted before midnight — and that might be enough to make the outcome apparent if the margin is big enough.

On the other extreme, if the margin between Trump and Biden is close, eyes will focus on those counties that take until noon Nov. 7 to fully count their ballots. If the statewide margin then is within a half-percentage point — likely about 55,000 votes — a machine recount would occur. If it’s within a quarter-percentage point — about 27,000 votes — there would be a hand recount of rejected ballots.

One area of contention during a recount would be mail-in ballots rejected because voters’ signatures didn’t match what their counties have on file. These voters are notified and have until two days after the election to prove their identity, but many won’t respond. That could lead to challenges before each county’s elections board over whether particular rejections are legitimate.

Liza McClenaghan, chair of Common Cause Florida, said the signature examiners are trained, “so it is not as random as people think. But it is not a court-of-law signature process.”

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