Voters league gets satisfaction from reforms

By SUSAN THURSTON

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 20, 2001

TAMPA -- The League of Women Voters in Florida has been complaining about the state's old-fashioned election system for 20 years.

They made some improvements along the way, but it took a botched presidential election before lawmakers got serious about it.

Today, members say their hard work paid off. The state Legislature's election reform bill features many of the changes they have been pushing for years, including a uniform ballot system and more voter education.

"I think a lot of good has come out of (the election)," said Sandra Sheets, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, which has 32 chapters and 3,100 members. More than 100 delegates from leagues across Florida gathered in Tampa this weekend for the group's biennial convention to elect new officers, push their platform and celebrate their success. Many praised state lawmakers for approving a meaty election reform package, but said it will take years of hard to work to see the desired results.

"We think that it's a start, and we look forward to seeing it implemented," said Dena Leavengood, a member of the Hillsborough County league. "The public needs to be better informed and assisted and encouraged to participate."

League members supported the bill's elimination of punch cards, paper ballots and mechanical level machines, which exposed serious flaws in Florida's election system during the November presidential race. They also favored creating provisional ballots so people can vote on the day of the election, pending verification by a canvassing board.

But members didn't get everything they wanted. The supervisor of elections races still are partisan, and no money was set aside for voting education in high schools. They also sought to automatically restore the voting rights of ex-felons.

"There are so many people who have been disenfranchised," said Joan Karp, a member of the South Palm Beach County league. "If they serve their time, they should be rehabilitated into the system without having a lot of bureaucracy."

Karp, whose league is based in the county where the controversial butterfly ballot was used, said the problems underscored the need to educate people on the basics of voting, not just on the ballot issues. "The elections always seemed so routine. . . . We never really thought that we had to teach the people how to vote."

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