Supervisor seeks help on felon listings

A Melbourne firm will be hired to sort out who can and cannot vote among those tagged as having felony convictions.

By CHASE SQUIRES
Published July 3, 2004

DADE CITY - Faced with running background checks on 765 potentially ineligible Pasco County voters, Supervisor of Elections Kurt Browning is turning to outside help.

Among the first in the state to consider such action, Browning expects to contract next week with a Melbourne company to run background checks on registered voters tagged by a statewide list as potentially ineligible because of a previous felony conviction.

"We don't have the manpower, nor do we have the expertise to do this," Browning said Friday. "The supervisors are under a tremendous amount of scrutiny as far as processing the names on the list. We've got to make sure it's right."

Felons are not allowed to vote, but in some cases, names are included on the state's list incorrectly, said Indian River County Supervisor of Elections Kay Clem. Sometimes, an individual has had his or her civil rights restored by the state Office of Clemency. Sometimes a felony charge was reduced to a misdemeanor, said Clem, credited with coming up with the idea for using outside specialists, then suggesting it at a state convention of elections officials last month.

"We know the list is inaccurate," she said.

Browning said he almost is finished with the contract for Edge Information Management Inc., which will charge Pasco County $16 per name, plus $2 for a certified copy of the appropriate document. Browning expects the bill to run less than $14,000. The company is on a state list of approved vendors, eliminating the need to bid the project, he said.

"I wish we didn't have to do it; I wish we didn't have to deal with this right now, but it's the hand we've been dealt," Browning said Friday.

Browning said the task of verifying the state's list of potentially ineligible voters fell on elections supervisors this year as part of the fallout from the controversial 2000 election. The goal of ensuring that everyone who is entitled to vote is allowed to vote is admirable, he said. The work involved in checking state records for errors is difficult.

Browning said he expects Edge Information to complete its work in two to three weeks. Then his office will mail certified letters to everyone still deemed ineligible advising them they could be removed from the voting rolls. From there, it will be up to voters to challenge their status and have themselves restored to the rolls.

Not every county is dealing with the list the same way, said Bill Cowles, Orange County's supervisor of elections, and president of the state supervisor's association.

"Each community will make their own decision," he said.

Some counties have the staffing needed to do the background checks themselves. Some don't have the money to hire outside companies, and some have so few names on the list that they can handle the extra work, he said. Orange County, which includes Orlando, will do the work in-house, designating four senior staffers to research names, Cowles said.

Clem said she has heard from four or five counties who are interested in contracting the job to an outside company. She said she considered using an outside company after realizing her staff didn't have the background in judicial terminology needed for the task.

"Bringing them up to speed would just take too much time," she said.

Edge Information ran a test for her, using 20 names from her list, Clem said. The results came back flawlessly, and Clem said she was convinced.

Edge Information Management was founded in 1991 as a way for employers to do background checks on potential hires. The company also does drug screenings and helps landlords screen potential tenants.

Compliance officer Norm Gagnon said his company has representatives across the state who will physically go to each necessary courthouse and get copies of the necessary documents.

Working for elections supervisors is a new field, but it's an area the company thinks it can help, Gagnon said.

"We said, "What's the worst that could happen?"' he said. "We're not stopping anyone from voting, they're already on that list. If anything, we can help them by maybe finding they shouldn't be on that list."

Browning said voters should still show some personal initiative. If they suspect they may be included on the state list, if they have had problems in the past with identity mixups or paperwork showing they received clemency, then they should contact the Supervisor of Elections Office and state their case.

"If we get to the point where we have to get fingerprints and send them to the FDLE, then that's what we're going to do," Browning said.

[Last modified July 3, 2004, 01:00:34]