Florida secretary of states office lets itself off the hook

[morgan2]

big suprise... They found no wrong doing by themself, who woulda thunk it!


http://www.wired.com/news/evote/0,2645,65821,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_7

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Florida elections officials were lax in their oversight of the company that created a flawed database of felons and dead voters, but there was no intent to disenfranchise anyone, an internal audit of the project found.

The audit by the Department of State's inspector general, released Monday, concerned the state's now-canceled contract with the consulting firm Accenture, which was paid $2.3 million to create the database.

[Village Idiot]

1. What a pile of STEWED FEWMETS!

[Spangle]

4. Same firm from 2000?

If it is, then that should automatoicly be a red flag.

And didn't a judge rule that they couldn't use this method and in the end they did it anyway, because they didn't have time to do it any other way. Or some other BS like that. Maybe that was 2002.

[Squeech]

2. What a coincidence

Especially the part about how this year's version of the list was almost all black (vastly leaning Dem), and no Hispanics (mainly Cuban exiles, reliably Repuke).

Kevin Drum suggested that they did it by merging two databases. I don't remember the details, but the gist of it was that in one, the Hispanics would have been identified as such, while in the other, Hispanic wasn't a choice and they would have been labeled black or white. So none of them would have matched.

[Spangle]

3. BS! Point of merging files

is to add aditional information.

Unless they chose to leave out the "race" collum, then the RACE should have showed up where it was KNOWN.

Data base mangers.... Am I wrong about this?

[Squeech]

5. No, I think this is how it works

Here's Jones on the court's list: black, male, lives at address A. Here's Jones on the election rolls: black, male, lives at address A. He matches, so he goes on the Accenture list and doesn't get to vote.

Here's Estrada on the court's list: Hispanic, male, lives at address B. Here's Estrada on the election rolls: male, lives at address B, but Hispanic isn't a choice, so they called him white. Therefore no match, therefore they don't think he's the felon they want to remove from the rolls, therefore he gets to vote.

This is obviously a gross oversimplification, but that's how I understood Kevin Drum's point. (Drum is the former Calpundit, IMHO one of the most level-headed bloggers, now writing for Washington Monthly.)

[salin]

6. what a surprise

[progressoid]

7. Well, it's good to know the system works...

now I'm going to stick my head in the oven

[soup]

8. Florida's New Agency: Bureau of Registration Services

aka Florida's Bureau of Pass the Buck

Thanks for opening this discussion, morgan2. Saw this article yesterday. Check it out:

Job for new bureau: statewide voter list

The secretary of state announces a new agency to handle the list, replacing one too flawed to use Nov. 2.

By LUCY MORGAN, Times Tallahassee Bureau Chief
Published November 23, 2004

TALLAHASSEE - Responding to a critical audit, Secretary of State Glenda Hood said Monday she will create a bureau to develop a statewide voter registration list in hopes of eliminating controversies that have plagued recent elections.

The new list will be designed to prevent anyone from voting in more than one place, and to remove names of dead people or felons who have not had their rights restored.

Hood said the development of that list will become the priority of the Bureau of Registration Services, which will handle all measures relating to the new Help America Vote Act approved by Congress after the 2000 election.

The changes were announced after a 50-page audit criticizing the way the Division of Elections managed a $2.2-million contract with Accenture, hired in 2001 to create a statewide voter registration list.
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/11/23/State/Job_for_new_bureau__s.shtml

---

Clay Roberts, yeah, that's the ticket. Not Roberts' boss, Katherine Harris, not the interim guy (what was his name? I've forgotten), and certainly not Glenda Hood. Let's put this on Clay Roberts. What ever happened to him, anyway? Was he one of the ones who suddenly wanted to spend more time with this family?

[Spangle]

9. Why remove. Why not just FLAG

And state "Felon, Dead, Moved" that sort of thing. I also believe that EVERYONE that is going to be removed from the list, should be contacted FIRST.

Even if that meands driving out to their house. If they don't live there, that kicks them out anyway.

This way, the list must be updated every 3 months. That would give the local office time to work on the list a little at a time. Giving them a whole data base just before a major elections is rather .. SHATTY.. aghm