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2018 Vote Could Pave Way for Tweaking in 2020

FSASOE

Despite some problems, Florida’s elections officials say overall, the November 6th general election went smoothly. But some changes could be on the horizon for 2020.

Meeting in Sarasota last week, the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections heard a report that 66 of Florida’s 67 counties met the recount deadline in the governor and U.S. Senate races.

“There’s a couple of areas for improvement – very few, but a couple of high-profile instances where individual counties had some issues,” said David Stafford, Elections Chief in Escambia County.

“The system was stress-tested pretty severely, but I think overall it held,” Stafford said. “That was really the first statewide recount we’ve had since the reforms after Bush v. Gore, and you went from zero three machine and two manual [recounts] all at one time.”

Only a couple of counties, says Stafford, showed problems, but some areas could get some tweaking before the next election cycle.  Timelines, for one, and then updating some of the existing administrative rules, such as what’s called the “voter intent rule.”

“Trying to discern voter intent, it’s impossible to foresee every circumstance; but there certainly are some common ones that, when you put down a rule and say ‘if you see this, then this is what the decision should be,’” said Stafford. “There’s a place in one of the reports that we filed that says if you have suggestions for additions or improvements to that rule, please do. And I know a lot of counties did.”

It took more than five weeks to certify the Florida vote in the 2000 presidential election – which gave George W. Bush the win over Al Gore. In 2018 it took two weeks to certify election results due to close races, recounts and controversies. During the latter, Florida was roasted by late-night TV comedians such as Stephen Colbert.

“And after learning they had a snowball’s chance in Florida, the [Andrew] Gillum campaign put out a statement: ‘Our campaign is monitoring the situation closely and is ready for any outcome,” said Colbert. “The [Ron] DeSantis campaign also put out a statement: ‘No take-backs, dibs; I licked the governor’s chair.’”

Credit escambiavotes.com
David Stafford, Elections Supervisor for Escambia County.

Stafford – who was not Elections Supervisor in 2000 – says nearly two decades later it’s a different ballgame with a lot more uniformity and certainty now.

“The fact that you had a ‘Voter Intent’ rule, and you have specific rules that deal with how the machine and recount is conducted, rather than looking at hanging chads and dimpled chads, you’re looking partially filled-in ovals, X-ed out ovals and circled choices rather than bubbled-in, et cetera.”

Meantime, the supervisors agree that voter outreach and education are key, especially in the era of social media. Stafford says much of that already is underway in Escambia County, including in the schools.

“We will bring the voting booths and the tabulators and actual ballot in what we call ‘My Favorite Things’ election, where they’re voting for their favorite fast food restaurant and favorite sports team,” said Stafford. “The key is they’re replicating the process. You’re going to be issued a paper ballot, fill in an oval next to your choice, [and] run it through the tabulator.”

For those already eligible to vote, they’re urged to begin accepting responsibility by making sure their ballots are marked correctly and properly signed, so processing them is a breeze.

“I always tell my poll workers, ‘the greatest sight you’ll ever see is a voter coming into your polling place or early voting site with their sample ballot in their hand,” Stafford said. “And those are the folks that, not only do they make fewer mistakes, just anecdotally, but also they complete the process quicker.”

Another major challenge in running a flawless election is dealing with the misinformation and outright lies that are spread on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. Escambia County’s David Stafford’s advice: widen your field of information.

“Basically, it’s ‘caveat emptor’ – buyer beware,” says Stafford. “Know where your information is coming from, the source. Let’s say you’re looking at a constitutional amendment; you read something that describes it. I would say go find something else that describes it differently. Don’t solely relay on one source.”

Legislators plan to scrutinize elections laws during next year's session to avoid problems in 2020. Those possibilities include: changing the timelines and deadlines for recounting ballots, and extending the absentee ballot timeline.