Reply #5: FL>: Voting failure may prompt suit

[FogerRox]

Voting failure may prompt suit
County to meet with state officials
By Jeff Burlew and Bill Cotterell
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITERS


Threatening a lawsuit over Leon County's failure to get voting machines for disabled citizens by a state deadline, Secretary of State Sue Cobb summoned county officials Thursday to a meeting next week to explain themselves.

"As you know, we have the authority to file suit to enforce state law," Cobb told Commission Chairman Bill Proctor.In a letter to Elections Supervisor Ion Sancho, she did not mention going to court but said County Attorney Herb Thiele notified the state of "a potential problem with the contingency plan" Sancho proposed for getting the equipment. Cobb invited Sancho and Proctor to her office for a session with Division of Elections Director Dawn Roberts at 11 a.m. Monday "to discuss the county's progress in timely procuring a certified accessible voting system" for the 2006 elections.

Sancho, who said he welcomed the meeting with Cobb, had tried to get the voting equipment by the deadline, but all three companies certified to sell the equipment in Florida refused to do business with him. He says he's being blacklisted by the companies, and he has questioned whether there's a movement afoot to get him out of office.

Sancho is in talks with the Louisville, Ky.,-based company IVS for its "Inspire Vote-by-Phone" device, which has a telephone-like device for blind voters to use at their precincts. Sancho turned to IVS after the companies certified to sell voting equipment refused to do business with him.

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http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060310/NEWS01/603100365/1010/NEWS01