Vote, then pray your ballot is counted - Daniel Ruth, Times Columnist

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3. More blog pieces and an editorial calling for removal of Detzner

Embattled Florida elections chief goes on the defense

Steve Bousquet, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau
Friday, July 31, 2015 10:24am

TALLAHASSEE — Under fire once again for lapses in oversight of Florida's voter database and lax communication, Gov. Rick Scott's top elections official says he'll "over-communicate" in the future.

For embattled Secretary of State Ken Detzner, it's an all-too-familiar refrain as he tries to improve his strained relationships with county election supervisors, who depend on a reliable database as they tabulate votes in Florida elections.

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Tensions are escalating because the 2016 presidential election is drawing closer and any new voting problems in Florida would revive the state's reputation for voting irregularities and spiral into a national controversy.

State auditors recently issued seven specific warning signs, saying Detzner's agency needs to tighten management and security of the state voter database, train workers faster, improve disaster planning, and reduce the high number of temporary system breakdowns.

More: http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/legislature/embattled-florida-elections-chief-goes-on-the-defense/2239495

Detzner tells counties updated voter database 'ready to go live'
Steve Bousquet on Tuesday, Jul. 28, 2015 at 12:30 PM

Secretary of State Ken Detzner's office is telling Florida's 67 election supervisors that updated hardware on the state voter database is "ready to go live."

An alert from Division of Elections Director Maria Matthews went out Monday evening after details emerged of a critical state audit of the agency's management of the Florida Voter Registration System (FVRS). In addition, county election supervisors, who have repeatedly criticized Detzner for a lack of communication, called the audit findings "troubling."

Supervisors also struck a more cooperative tone in response to the state's action. Pasco County Supervisor Brian Corley, president of the supervisors' statewide association, said: "The FVRS hardware update is obviously welcomed by the supervisors of elections as the upgrade should provide a more stable platform going forward and we look forward to working with the Department of State on the software refresh."
More: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2015/07/detzner-tells-counties-updated-database-ready-to-go-live.html

Editorial: Florida needs new elections leader
A Times Editorial
Tuesday, July 28, 2015 6:12pm

No wonder Secretary of State Ken Detzner was so opposed to the Florida Legislature's successful push to require the state to provide online voter registration. A new, independent audit found that the state's computerized voter registration system has had significant issues ranging from reliability to security weaknesses. That is only the latest revelation about the shortcomings of the state's election system, which needs new leadership at the top before next year's presidential election to help avoid another national embarrassment.

The report by the state auditor general released this week found disturbing evidence that even routine records were not being kept and that the computer system was too often down. The department did not track scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, the reasons for problems and delays, or the type of work that was done. The system was down eight times between December and February, including three straight days in February. Many drivers keep better maintenance records on their cars than the state has been keeping on its voter registration computer system.

Even more concerning is the state's lackadaisical approach to security. The audit cited inappropriate access privileges for 14 user accounts, a lack of controls on changes to the database and a lack of training about security. There were such serious concerns about the security of confidential information that the auditors intentionally did not reveal the details because they feared disclosure would leave the computer system vulnerable to hackers.

Detzner's responses to the audit are not entirely reassuring. He said the department has improved its record-keeping, training and security controls. But for the 14 users who had improper access to the computer system, the state's response was to change their job descriptions. Detzner indicated that in the future some workers will be able to see information on the computer without being able to make changes to the data. How comforting.

More: http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-florida-needs-new-elections-leader/2239070