Posted on Tue, Apr. 13, 2004
ELECTIONS
Absentee ballot may not require a witness
State election officials want to do away with requiring absentee voters to find a witness to sign their ballots. Critics say the change could lead to fraud.
BY ERIKA BOLSTAD AND MICHAEL VASQUEZ
ebolstad@herald.com
TALLAHASSEE - With thousands more Floridians expected to use absentee ballots to vote in November's presidential election, state election officials are calling for changes that critics say could invite fraud.
Election supervisors across the state want to do away with requiring absentee voters to find a witness to sign their ballots, even though witness information proved crucial in overturning a rigged 1997 Miami mayoral race.
The witness portion of the ballot is unnecessary, election officials say, since their clerks merely verify whether the voter's signature matches the one on file. Voters must have a witness's signature and address on the absentee ballot, but no one in the election office ever checks the address or identity of the witness.
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A state Division of Elections survey found that problems with witness signatures disqualified more than 2,300 absentee ballots in the March 9 presidential primary.
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/breaking_news/8417885.htm(Free registration required)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~For newcomers to Florida election history, Florida has a bad record of election fraud, focusing most scandalously recently on ABSENTEE BALLOTS in Miami.