WASHINGTON Ohio secretary of state offers ideas for election reform

Some at the hearing said more than new technology and money is needed.
By DAVID PHINNEY
STATES NEWS SERVICE
WASHINGTON -- Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell wants Congress to pitch in with money to help clean up flaws in the nation's election system.
Blackwell's appearance Wednesday marked the first hearing on election reform in the House.
He joined four other state officials from around the country, including Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, to offer suggestions on making sure that every vote cast on election day is counted accurately so that a replay of November's tortuous presidential election never takes place again.
The officials told the House Administration Committee that if Washington wants uniform standards in every state, then Congress must send money.
Systems upgrades across the country have been met with the harsh reality of tight budgets and overtaxed citizens, Blackwell told lawmakers.
Because of the firestorm of controversy surrounding punch card ballots during the election that led to Florida recounts, Blackwell said voters have lost confidence in card use.
Seventy-four percent of Ohio voters use punch cards, and it will cost the state at least $120 million to replace them with new voting technology that is more reliable, more accurate and easier to use, he said.
Controversy: Harris, who became a familiar figure in the news during the Florida debacle ultimately resolved in the U.S. Supreme Court, agreed that funds would be needed to instill voter confidence in a new system.
After the election, Harris submitted recommendations to the Florida Legislature aimed at improving the election process. Many of her suggestions were included in legislation approved Wednesday by the Florida House to replace punch cards with electronic scanners and touch-screen systems.
Others told the committee that more than new technology and money is needed because voting irregularities around the country occurred more frequently at polling places in minority neighborhoods.
Racial component: Fact-finding groups have determined that ballot miscounts and undercounts occurred most often in neighborhoods with a high percentage of black residents, according to Hilary O. Shelton, a director with the Washington NAACP.
She said allegations of voting improprieties remain unresolved in Georgia, Missouri, Illinois, California and Florida.
Harris said that no evidence exists to support accusations that police used roadblocks in Florida to prevent minority voters from reaching polling places, but there was one roadblock about a mile from a predominantly white poll.
Committee chairman Bob Ney, a Bellaire Republican, said the election process could be improved by making sure that states have clear standards, but he cautioned that the government should not overreach.
The fact that no central authority administers and controls U.S. elections is a key, he said.