E-Vote Recount Rule in Dispute

Florida officials will not require any recounts of votes cast on touch-screen voting machines during Tuesday's state primary, despite a ruling by an administrative judge that counties using electronic voting are not exempt from laws requiring the re-tabulation of votes in close elections. The judge, Susan Kirkland, issued a ruling Friday in response to a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups. In it, she points out that the Florida legislature decided earlier this year not to amend state law to bar recounts of electronic votes. State officials have not decided if they will appeal the ruling, but they will not change their rules for the primary. The situation should be cleared up before the November presidential election. "The whole reason that touch-screen machines were put into place and that some of the counties chose to use them was to avoid the problems they encountered in 2000," said Jenny Nash, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of State. "This is a step backward to that time." President Bush won the state's electoral votes by just 537 votes after 36 days of recount and contest. [more ]