By Billy House/Media General News Service
Email to a Friend
Stumble It!
WASHINGTON -- Federal poll watchers will apparently be permitted on Election Day at voting sites in Florida’s Hillsborough, Pinellas, Miami-Dade and Broward counties, after all.
In a letter Thursday, Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning told U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson that his office will “encourage” the election supervisors of the four counties to allow U.S. Government Accountability Office researchers to monitor the sites.
Earlier this week, Browning had acknowledged that his initial response to a request by the GAO to be allowed to check equipment and monitor polling-place accessibility for people with disabilities, including senior citizens, was, “No, you can’t come to our polling places.”
Browning said state law is very clear on who can go into a polling place.
Democrat Nelson on Monday wrote to Gov. Charlie Crist asking him to reconsider that position by his administration.
Nelson’s letter explained that the GAO's plans to visit polling sites in Miami-Dade, Broward, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties and in 30 other states to examine voting access are based on a request early this year for such a study from the Senate Committee on Aging, of which Nelson is a member.
The study would update a similar analysis conducted during the 2000 election. Florida participated in the 2000 study and granted GAO researchers access to polling places in four Florida counties.
The 30 other states are cooperating with the GAO study, Nelson pointed out in his letter.
In his two-paragraph letter in response to Nelson today, Browning told the senator “we support the efforts by (the aging committee) and the GAO to study the important issue of access to voting by people with disabilities.”
It added: “Although Florida law does not authorize the Secretary of State to grant GAO researchers access to enter Florida’s polling places, we will forward the GAO’s request to the supervisors of elections in the four counties specified and encourage them to consider granting the access as requested."
Browning response comes after The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) had chimed into the dispute with a statement questioning why Browning, a Crist appointee, was saying the GAO couldn’t include Florida sites in its plans to check equipment and document polling place accessibility.
“In a state with such a high senior citizen population and high population of people with disabilities, it’s outrageous that the Secretary of State refuses to let people in to measure accessibility. What’s he got to hide?” said Jim Dickson, Vice President for Government Affairs at AAPD.
Reporter Billy House can be reached at bhouse@mediageneral.com or at 1 (202) 662-7673.
In a letter Thursday, Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning told U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson that his office will “encourage” the election supervisors of the four counties to allow U.S. Government Accountability Office researchers to monitor the sites.
Earlier this week, Browning had acknowledged that his initial response to a request by the GAO to be allowed to check equipment and monitor polling-place accessibility for people with disabilities, including senior citizens, was, “No, you can’t come to our polling places.”
Browning said state law is very clear on who can go into a polling place.
Democrat Nelson on Monday wrote to Gov. Charlie Crist asking him to reconsider that position by his administration.
Nelson’s letter explained that the GAO's plans to visit polling sites in Miami-Dade, Broward, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties and in 30 other states to examine voting access are based on a request early this year for such a study from the Senate Committee on Aging, of which Nelson is a member.
The study would update a similar analysis conducted during the 2000 election. Florida participated in the 2000 study and granted GAO researchers access to polling places in four Florida counties.
The 30 other states are cooperating with the GAO study, Nelson pointed out in his letter.
In his two-paragraph letter in response to Nelson today, Browning told the senator “we support the efforts by (the aging committee) and the GAO to study the important issue of access to voting by people with disabilities.”
It added: “Although Florida law does not authorize the Secretary of State to grant GAO researchers access to enter Florida’s polling places, we will forward the GAO’s request to the supervisors of elections in the four counties specified and encourage them to consider granting the access as requested."
Browning response comes after The American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) had chimed into the dispute with a statement questioning why Browning, a Crist appointee, was saying the GAO couldn’t include Florida sites in its plans to check equipment and document polling place accessibility.
“In a state with such a high senior citizen population and high population of people with disabilities, it’s outrageous that the Secretary of State refuses to let people in to measure accessibility. What’s he got to hide?” said Jim Dickson, Vice President for Government Affairs at AAPD.
Reporter Billy House can be reached at bhouse@mediageneral.com or at 1 (202) 662-7673.