Oct 20, 2008 6:28 pm US/Eastern
Elections Chief Says Broward Is Ready
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ―
"We want every voter to vote and we want their votes to count."
Broward Supervisor of Elections Dr. Brenda Snipes says after months of stringent training her department is ready for the much anticipated 2008 Presidential Election.
"We are as prepared as we can get as a result of planning for nearly a year for this process," said Snipes.
Snipes added that her staff of about 10-thousand employees and volunteers has worked hard to make sure voters in Broward County are fairly represented this November. To ensure fairness, and reduce the chance of fraud, Broward has purchased special equipment to process absentee ballots. It has also purchased a new electronic Voter I-D system which is tied to a live data base which can check a voter's eligibility and detect if a voter is trying to vote more than once.
"Once a person goes in to vote, it updates their record immediately," said Snipes.
This year voters in Broward have a long ballot to consider; its 4 pages long with issues and races listed on both sides. As opposed to the 2004 election where voters entered their choices on a computer touch screen, this year voters will use a paper ballot to record their selections. Voters will first color in the oval next to their selection with an ink pen. When they are finished, they will run their ballots through an optical scanner called the DS200 which will tally up their responses. Elections officials say the paper ballot will then be securely stored in the base of the machine, ensuring a paper trail just in case they need to be check by hand during a recount.
"I think with the paper ballot it produces a level of comfort for many of the voters," said Snipes.
The county is also offering an interactive feature this year. If voters encounter any problems or have concerns and are unable to get through to election officials on the phone, they can send an email to the department at
ELECTIONS@BROWARDSOE.ORG. Snipes said that particular email account will be constantly monitored during the election process and problems or issues raised by letters sent to the account will quickly be addressed.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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