Historic vote count is over (Florida)

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Sat, Nov. 06, 2004




ELECTION 2004 | PROVISIONAL BALLOTS


Historic vote count is over

Broward elections officials accepted more than 2,428 provisional ballots in the presidential election, the first time they were widely used in the state.

BY ERIKA BOLSTAD
[email protected]


Broward County won't send a final, certified vote to the state until next Friday, when military and overseas absentee ballots are tallied, but the rest of the counting is finally done.The canvassing board wrapped up its count of more than 2,428 provisional ballots late Thursday night after examining several hundred to determine whether they were valid votes.

This is the first time the paper provisional ballots have been used in a presidential election. The ballots, which were mandated as part of the Help America Vote Act, are the last resort for people whose names don't show up on the voter rolls.

When provisional ballots arrive from the precincts on Election Day, workers check their computer system to verify that the voter is registered and to check whether he or she has already voted. Voters also must be in the proper precinct for a provisional ballot to be counted.

If the voter should have been allowed to vote, the provisional ballot counts. If not, it is thrown out.The office did not track the total number of provisional ballots received or the total number that were rejected, said Gisela Salas, Broward Deputy Supervisor of Elections.They will know the total count of rejected ballots when they send letters to all those who cast them, Salas said.

''I think we threw out a ton,'' said Broward County Mayor Ilene Lieberman, who served on the three-member canvassing board.
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/10112736.htm
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