Voting begins in Florida and problems are quick to follow

FLORIDIANS began casting votes yesterday and within an hour problems cropped up.

In Palm Beach County, the centre of the madness during the recount four years ago, a Democratic state legislator said she wasn’t given a complete absentee ballot when she asked to opt for paper instead of the electronic touch-screen machines.

Several voting sites in Broward County had problems with laptops connected to elections headquarters. And a brief computer system crash in Orange County paralysed voting in Orlando and its immediate suburbs.

While backers touted early voting for people as a way to avoid long lines on November 2, some have criticised the concept, saying it increases opportunities for fraud without significantly boosting participation.

Some groups urged Florida voters to ask for paper absentee ballots because of concerns over the state’s new touch-screen voting machines and any potential recounts.

Voters yesterday could choose either method.

State Rep Shelley Vana said the paper absentee ballot she was given at a Palm Beach County site was missing one of its two pages, including the proposed amendments to the state constitution.

She said election workers were indifferent when she pointed out the oversight.

“There was absolutely no concern on the part of the folks at the Supervisor of Elections Office that this page was missing.

“This is not a good start. If there are incomplete ballots out there, I can’t imagine I would be the only one getting it,” she said.

County elections supervisor Theresa LePore did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Early voting also gets under way in Texas, Colorado and Arkansas.

Other key states this year have already begun in-person voting, including Wisconsin, Iowa, Nevada, Ohio and New Mexico. Balloting by mail is under way in Oregon, the only state in the nation that has done away with polling booths altogether.