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Politics

Jennings has another loss at voting machines

A state-funded audit says the machines didn't malfunction in Sarasota's congressional race.

By ANITA KUMAR
Published February 24, 2007

Results of a comprehensive audit released Friday show that the voting machines used in the disputed Sarasota-area congressional race were not flawed.

The findings are a blow to Democrat Christine Jennings, whose main argument in disputing her narrow loss to Republican Vern Buchanan is possible machine malfunction.

The state-funded investigation included for the first time an examination of the source code, the software that makes the machines run.

"I am confident that the race in Sarasota County was fair and accurate," Florida Secretary of State Kurt Browning said.

The result - though significant - does not mean the case is over.

Jennings and a group of voter advocacy groups vow to continue seeking access to the source code so they can conduct their own reviews. Jennings' campaign described the study as flawed and incomplete, and said that experts were not allowed full access to the machines.

"It's unfortunate that the state's election officials were more concerned about sweeping the problem under the rug than finding out the truth about what went wrong with Sarasota County's voting system," Jennings spokesman David Kochman said.

Buchanan was meeting with city officials in Venice when he learned about the study's results. His office referred calls to his attorneys.

Jennings "wanted to have an independent review of the source code," Buchanan attorney Glenn Burhans said. "I think this is it."

Buchanan was sworn in to office in January, but Jennings refuses to concede, disputing her loss both in the Florida courts and in Congress.

At issue: Touch screen voting machines in Sarasota County recorded that more than 18,000 people, or 13 percent of all voters, did not vote for either candidate, a rate higher than in other counties in the district.

The state Division of Elections, which has access to all source codes but cannot share them with the campaigns or the public for proprietary reasons, hired a team at a cost of $45,000 to examine the machines.

The study, which began Dec. 15, was conducted by a team of eight academics and led by Florida State University's Security and Assurance in Information Laboratory.

The team determined that the source code did not contribute to the undervote.

"We have a strong level of confidence that the machines did not cause or contribute to the undervote," said Alec Yasinsac, an FSU computer science professor and project leader. "We don't know if it was ballot design or voter discontent, but the problem was not in the source code."

Jennings and several voter advocacy groups have sued in an attempt to force the voting machine company to reveal the source code.

State law in Florida and elsewhere protects the insides of voting machines from the public eye. Voting machine makers say the information amounts to a company's trade secret.

A Leon County judge ruled against Jennings and the groups, but they have appealed. A decision is expected any day.

Voter advocacy groups say the state-funded study was not independent because the state of Florida is part of Jennings' lawsuit.

"This audit is a whitewash," People for the American Way Foundation president Ralph Neas said. "It is the result of a flawed process overseen by people with a stake in the outcome, and it will not be the last word on this matter."

Anita Kumar can be reached at akumar@sptimes.com or 202-463-0576.

[Last modified February 24, 2007, 01:18:47]