Saturday, November 11, 2006

Voting machines lose ally

SARASOTA COUNTY -- Amid questions surrounding the touch-screen voting system that registered an 18,000-ballot undervote in Tuesday's congressional race, Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent now says she will comply with voters who want a new voting system -- one that produces a paper trail.

Dent will encourage county commissioners to replace the touch-screen machines with a paper ballot system.

Her announcement Friday marks a reversal for the elections supervisor, who had promoted and adamantly defended the touch-screen system the county purchased for $4.5 million in 2001.

Although a ballot initiative that called for a paper trail and spot audits of election results won 55 percent approval Tuesday, the switch to paper still seemed uncertain, as Secretary of State Sue Cobb, Dent and the County Commission were slated to challenge its constitutionality in the appellate court.

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