The steep toll of high tech polls and a new watering hole

Tampa columnist HOOPER E-mail: Click here Archive

© St. Petersburg Times
published August 30, 2002

U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, who will be in Washington, D.C., during the Sept. 10 primary, cast his ballot with relative ease Thursday on one of the new touch screen voting machines at the Supervisor of Elections Office in Tampa.

Davis was a little unsure at first. He tried to start the process from the back of the machine. But after he got on the right side, he breezed through his choices.

Getting the "Help America Vote Act" through Congress has been anything but a breeze. Davis helped craft the bill, working closely with Hillsborough Elections Supervisor Pam Iorio and former Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris. Different versions have passed the U.S. House and Senate.

If signed into law, the bill would authorize $400-million for states and counties wanting to replace punch card voting systems. An additional $2.25-billion would be set aside to assist with poll worker and voter education and registration improvements.

After all, it costs a pretty penny to train someone like me to be a poll worker.

Hardworking promoter Corey Currie is at it again. This time he's bringing Montell Jordan to the Garage on Saturday night. That's the Montell who sings This Is How We Do It, not the one who has a talk show.

Mac's Sports Bar in SoHo has found its way into this man about town's rotation. The beer prices are reasonable, the juke box is decent (though it needs Just The Way You Look Tonight) and when the noise gets to be too much, you can head for one of the pool tables in the back.

Throw in some sinful bacon and cheese-covered fries, and you've got a good night.

Davis is not the only Hillsborough resident voting early. Any registered voter can beat the rush two weeks before Election Day through absentee ballots or by simply going to the Supervisor of Elections offices at County Center downtown or out on Falkenburg Road.

Becki Forsell is one of the residents who exercised that right. Visually impaired, she used the audio component of the new system and found it to her liking. Forsell noted that others, including people with dyslexia or those who may struggle to use the touch screen because their hands shake, can also take advantage of the audio system.

On Sept. 21, Forsell's newly formed group, Yes Of America, will have an open house featuring the audio machines at the North Tampa Chamber of Commerce, 3333 E Busch Boulevard.

Not only would the "Help America Vote Act" help Florida, it would help the nation. And despite what the rest of America tells you, we're not the lone state out of step. What happened here in 2000 could have happened in any state.

The price tag is huge and, like everything, finding the money will be difficult. But if it means avoiding a fiasco like we had in 2000, isn't it worth it?

That's all I'm saying.

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