Voting Committee Examines 2004 Election

Wednesday February 9, 2005 5:46 PM

By MALIA RULON

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Members of a new federal voting commission meeting Wednesday to review problems with the 2004 election denounced the secretaries of state from Ohio and Florida, two states at the epicenter of complaints, for failing to show up.

``We can have disagreements, but you can't run and you can't hide,'' said House Administration Committee Chairman Bob Ney, R-Ohio.

Ney, whose committee oversees election issues, said he would continue to push for Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell and his Florida counterpart, Glenda Hood, to appear the Election Assistance Commission. Elections chiefs from four other states were to testify later Wednesday.

Ney called the commission hearing to examine the successes and failures of the Help America Vote Act, which was passed after the disputed 2000 election in Florida and has been fraught with delays and a shortage of money.

``The arrogance of these secretaries of state, to not be here today, is an affront to those persons who elected them to office,'' said Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald of California, the top Democrat on the Administration Committee.

Blackwell, a Republican, was invited to testify but could not break a prior commitment, spokesman Carlo LoParo said. Blackwell was in Washington on Wednesday to chair a meeting of the Campaign Finance Institute, a nonpartisan group that evaluates campaign finance issues.

Brian Walsh, spokesman for the commission, said members were told Hood couldn't make the hearing but he did not know the reason.

The four-member commission, in prepared remarks, said provisional voting in the 2004 election allowed more people to cast ballots and that more electronic voting machines were available. But the commission said there still was much work to be done to reform federal elections and that an instantaneous overhaul of the system envisioned by many Americans was unrealistic.

``In our 'fast food' and 'real time' society, it is easy to expect a quick fix to any given problem. Elections are complex and dynamic events that require years of advance planning and careful thought,'' the commission said.

Already, the commission has distributed $2.2 billion to states, which helped some to install new electronic or optical scan machines before the Nov. 2 election.

The law also resulted in more than 1.5 million Americans being able to cast provisional ballots, which were given to voters who said they were eligible to vote although their names weren't on the rolls. More than 68 percent of the provisional ballots cast on Election Day were counted toward the final vote, the commission said.

Secretaries of state from Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico and Iowa said in prepared remarks that they registered record numbers of voters, expanded voter education programs and poll worker training, made more polling places accessible to the disabled and replaced old voting machines.

``Certainly, our nation's election system is not perfect. This year, we saw too many long lines at polling places and large numbers of provisional ballots cast. But last November's election was successful overall,'' said Kansas Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh, a Republican.

The hearing comes as the General Accountability Office, responding to complaints from around the country, investigates last year's vote count, including the malfunctions of voting machines and handling of provisional ballots. Lawsuits over provisional voting were filed in at least five states, most notably Ohio, Michigan and Missouri.

Many of the election complaints have come from Democrats, third-party candidates and voter advocates such as Jesse Jackson and Kweisi Mfume, the outgoing president of the NAACP.

Republicans and bipartisan groups also have acknowledged problems.

^---

On the Net:

Election Assistance Commission: http://www.eac.gov/

House Administration Committee: http://www.house.gov/cha/

No-Shows Annoy Group Probing 2004 Election
44 minutes ago  Politics - U. S. Congress

By MALIA RULON, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Starting on a sour note, lawmakers holding the first congressional review of the 2004 vote were upset by the absence of top election officials from Ohio and Florida, states with many balloting complaints.

The chairman of the House Administration Committee said he would hold hearings away from Washington and continue to seek testimony from Ohio's secretary of state, Kenneth Blackwell, and Florida's Glenda Hood.

"I am disappointed that they are not here," said Rep. Bob Ney (news, bio, voting record), R-Ohio. "We can have disagreements, but you can't run and you can't hide."

Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald (news, bio, voting record) of California, the top Democrat on the committee, said "the arrogance of these secretaries of state to not be here today is an affront."

Blackwell was in the capital, where he led a meeting of the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute. He said he already had agreed to attend that meeting before the House committee asked him to appear.

"I don't know why there would be any hand wringing or foot stomping. The Ohio story is probably the most widely told story in the country," Blackwell said. He pledged that someone from Ohio — though not necessarily him — would go before the committee, which oversees election issues.

Hood had a previously scheduled speech before the British-American Chamber of Commerce (news - web sites) of Central Florida on Wednesday, which the committee was told about, spokeswoman Jenny Nash said. Hood "welcomes any opportunity to discuss Florida's success during the 2004 election," Nash said.

The hearing was intended to examine the successes and failures of a law passed after Florida's disputed voting in the 2000 presidential election. The law created the Election Assistance Commission to distribute money to states and oversee election standards.

The commission found many successes from the past election, such as more voters using provisional ballots and electronic voting machines. But it also says more money is needed to complete voter databases, buy voting machines and perform other upgrades by 2006.

Secretaries of state from Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico and Iowa said their states registered record numbers of voters, expanded voter education programs and poll worker training, made more polling places accessible to the disabled and replaced old voting machines.

"Our system, certainly, is not perfect," said Kansas Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh, a Republican. "But, overall, last November's election was successful. The reforms are working."

The officials took issue with legislation that would standardize elections. Over the weekend, the National Association of Secretaries of State passed a resolution over the weekend asking Congress to dissolve the new election commission after it finishes its work.

"I was shocked, surprised, just because I didn't see it coming and don't agree with it," Ney said. "I understand your motivation. It's a horrific balance."

Already, the commission has distributed $2.2 billion of $3 billion set aside for states. The money helped some states install new electronic or optical scan machines before the Nov. 2 election.

The hearing came as congressional investigators, responding to complaints from around the country, look into the malfunctions of voting machines and handling of provisional ballots during last year's

Lawsuits over provisional voting were filed in at least five states, most notably Ohio, Michigan and Missouri.