Florida's Elections Chief Steps Down

[Khephra]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- A veteran elections official has quit his post overseeing the state's voting machinery.

Less than five months before the Nov. 2 election, Ed Kast stepped down as chief of the Division of Elections, saying he wished to pursue other interests.

Kast, 53, had worked at the Department of State since 1994 and took over as elections chief in 2002.

more................

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-brf-florida-elections-official,0,2460714.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines

[LibertyorDeath]

1. Is this good or bad News?

Do you know anything more about Dawn Roberts

[Khephra]

2. I'm afraid I've never heard of her before....

I'm not as up on the names of people in FL politics as I should be.

[LibertyorDeath]

3. I searched google & found this

Not sure if it's the same Dawn Roberts

http://www.dailyegyptian.com/spring00/05-02-00/pie.html

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=+Dawn+Roberts+political+affiliation&btnG=Search&meta=

[Judi Lynn]

4. You might find this on Ed Kast interesting

He has very decent interests at heart:

Kast Resignation Prompts New Concerns on Florida Voting Purge, Fall Election



Tallahassee, Florida – In the wake of the resignation of the Florida state director of Elections, Ed Kast, People For the American Way Foundation (PFAWF) called for renewed efforts to restore voters wrongly purged from the voting rolls in 1999 and 2000, and called on Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood to delay implementation of a new purge list for the 2004 elections.

“When the key election official for the state resigns with just five months to go, it’s a sign of serious disarray and instability,” said Sharon Lettman, PFAWF’s state director for the Election Protection voter education and advocacy program. “Just when county supervisors are looking for clear leadership, here comes another curve ball. We call on the Secretary of State to withdraw her demand for immediate implementation of the new voter purge list, and to make the restoration of voters’ rights the state’s highest priority.”

People For the American Way Foundation has offered to help county supervisors contact people on the 2004 list who are at risk of being wrongfully purged, but the state has instructed supervisors not to release the lists. PFAWF has also protested the Secretary of State’s instruction to county supervisors to develop a quick, “required” implementation plan for the new 2004 list, when thousands of voters wrongfully purged in the infamous 2000 election have not been restored to the rolls.

The county election supervisors are meeting this week in Key West at their annual convention, discussing the purge problem and other issues surrounding the 2004 election. PFAWF called on Hood today to take four key steps:

• Reverse the state’s priorities to make restoration of voters wrongfully disenfranchised in 1999 and 2000 the top priority for the next director of elections, Dawn Roberts.
  
  
• Put a hold on implementation of the 2004 list unless and until county supervisors are given clear instructions for implementation that does not place the burden of proof on the voters.
  
  
• Refrain from sending letters to voters on the purge list until an independent investigation and verification of their status can be made.
  
  Provide county supervisors with funding and other resources they need to put disenfranchised voters from 2000 back on the rolls, and to conduct independent inquiries before removing voters from the 2004 rolls.
  (snip)

http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=15849

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So does it look as if Jeb has everything all sewn up? How bad IS it?

[soup]

8. Not so sure about his 'decent interests'

He's been the director through the time when those purged in 1999/2000 were supposed to have been returned to the rolls. Is it done? no.

He was the director when the decision was made to exclude the touch-screen machines from recounts. There are no ballots to count, so there are no ballots to recount.

-----
This article from 2/12/04 sums up that decision fairly well:

TALLAHASSEE, Fla — .The Department of State has notified elections supervisors that touchscreen ballots don't have to be included during manual recounts because there is no question about how voters intended to vote.

While touchscreen ballot images can be printed, there is no need and elections supervisors aren't authorized to do so, Division of Elections Director Ed Kast wrote in a letter to Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Kurt Browning.

Florida law requires a manual recount of overvotes where too many candidates were chosen, and undervotes where no candidate was chosen in elections where the margin of victory is one-quarter of one percent of the vote.

But because the law states that the purpose of a recount is to determine whether there was a "clear indication on the ballot that the voter has made a definite choice," there is no need to review touchscreen ballots, Ed Kast, director of the Division of Elections.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/2004-02-12-florida-counts-good-enough_x.htm

-----

I'm going to stick my neck out here and suggest an 'abandon ship!' move on Kast's part in this. I'm thinking he's trying to save his own skin before the feces hits the rotary cooling device. Quitting 'to pursue other interests' right now just isn't sitting well with me. I'm thinking it's more of a 'getting out now while the getting is good' situation.

As far as this Dawn Roberts goes, can't find anything other than she's been lead counsel for the Department of Elections. Maybe I've just become entirely too jaded, but that put her in a position to be able to say, 'Why, yes. We can get away with this.' and now in a position to oversee the implementation of those changes.

I don't know, I just don't trust any of them until or if I'm proven wrong. It may not be fair or correct, but I lean towards 'guilty until proven innocent' when dealing with Florida elections officials.

sorry for the ramble. just trying to sort this out.

-----
Does anyone else get the same sense of what's happening?

[dusty64]

5. This could be VERY significant.

I also don't know anything about this person but the timing seems extremely suspect, any ideas?

[soup]

6. from the St Petersburg Times this morning

Had to dig through the 'Tan Stan' - Congratulations, Tampa Bay Lightning! news, but found this:

>snip<
County supervisors of election learned of Kast's resignation while gathered at Key West for their annual meeting.

"We were shocked when the rumors started going around after lunch. It came out of the blue," said Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Theresa LePore, who designed the infamous "butterfly ballot," blamed for much of the confusion during the contested 2000 presidential election. While she couldn't name any specific problems Kast's resignation might create for the 2004 election, LePore said "It doesn't make us look good."
>snip

"When the key elections official for the state resigns with just five months to go, it's a sign of serious disarray and instability," said Sharon Lettman, state director for the group's Election Protection voter education and advocacy program.

"Just when county supervisors are looking for clear leadership, here comes another curve ball."
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/06/08/State/Key_elections_officia.shtml

-------------------

The article goes on to say he wasn't resigning because of any problems at the agency, he simply wanted to 'pursue other interests'. But he didn't say what they were.

Do I need a tinfoil hat to believe there's something more going on here, or just a Florida Voter I.D.?

[Poiuyt]

11. LePore: "It doesn't make us look good."

Gee, and the Florida Elections Commision wasn't the laughing stock of the country before?

When somebody resign to "persure other interests," it means he was fired.

[lanparty]

27. They failed to mention ....

... REPUBLICAN Palm Beach County Supervisor Theresa Lepore (who switched from indpendent shortly after the 2000 election after swithing TO independent shortly BEFORE the 2000 election) ...

[qb]

7. He was probably being strong-armed by Jeb to disenfranchise more voters.

I wish for once someone would tell the truth about why they're quitting. "Pursuing other interests", "Personal reasons"... How stupid do they think we are?

[tlcandie]

9. If we could bet on it .. I would bet a ton of cash that he is being

strong-armed to go even further than they did in 2000 by lil' jebbie! I imagine that we ain't seen nothing yet!

Jebbie isn't going to have someone overseeing it that won't see it his way just like his evil brother, *!

I think it's time that the other states kick Florida out and I live here! I just don't see any way it will change...none! Legal repercussions don't even work against the BFFE! :cry:

Very disturbing news to me...VERY!

[soup]

10. Hmm, that makes two in the 'my way or the highway' camp.

Maybe I need to rethink my position. Just not sure what to make of this yet, but I was thinking more along the lines not willing to take the heat that's coming, so Kast is buggin' out ahead of the almost inevitable 2004 fiasco.

This Dawn Roberts had less than 5 months to fix the unfixable, 'give her a break'. Kast isn't there to take any heat, but 'did his best' while he was there. Hood says, 'gee, they were the ones who were supposed to handle things, so don't go pointing fingers at me.' The county supervisors were 'just doing their job'. jeb tries not to giggle uncontrollably and recuses himself.

-----------

Is this the person I've become? :scary:

[tlcandie]

12. I think you have the scenario down pat!

:puke:

[soup]

13. Either way,

Florida voters lose. again. dammit.

[tom_paine]

17. If he told the truth he would be assassinated

Character assassination most likely. The Real Kind isn;t beyond the Busheviks but seldom used these days due to eductaion of the masses and technology which increases detection likelihood.

But the man would face some SERIOUS REPERCUSSIONS, you can make book on that.

Like most of the Imperial Subjects of Amerika these days, he's running scared.

[lanparty]

28. Paul Wellstone, Mel Carnahan, John Tower, John Heinz ...

I'm not sure I completely agree.

[arwalden]

14. The Purpose Of This Is Clear...

To create disarray and confusion that will prevent any efforts to make certain the most recent "purge" was done properly... and to prevent any efforts to restore the voting rights of those who were improperly purged in 1999 and 2000.

This isn't just a matter of "bad timing" or of Mr. Kast being selfish, or tired of the scrutiny. It was a DELIBERATE act to maximize their efforts to ILLEGALLY and WRONGFULLY purge (likely democratic) voters who should not be purged.

[WillyT]

15. Kick !!!

:kick:

[Justice]

16. I'd Be Interested in His Severance Package

could be revealing.

[harmonyguy]

18. More on Dawn Roberts

Person(s) by this name are listed as being or have been:
Staff Director for Florida Senate Committee on Judiciary
Senior Contract Specialist, Polk County, Florida

They may or may not be the same person you're looking for.
HG

[soup]

19. I was WRONG.

If there's any truth in this article, Ed Kast turns out to have a conscience after all, and I was wrong.

So, they're cleaning house and it's not a blame game shuffle?

-----
TALLAHASSEE · The head of Florida's elections division resigned Monday amid reports he was feeling political heat over a push to purge thousands of suspected felons from the state's voter rolls.
>snip<

But Kast has told a handful of associates that he was uncomfortable with growing pressure to trim felons from voter rolls in time for the fall election, friends say.

"I've known him for 20 years, and I believe he has acted because under the circumstances it's the only thing he could do," said Leon County Election Supervisor Ion Sancho, past president of the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections.

"Ed had made a number of comments that the nature and timing of this felons list was not something he was responsible for. I think he felt in good conscience he could no longer be involved in the operations."
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-felection08jun08,0,2424064.story?coll=sfla-news-florida

[John_H]

25. Welp, there it is. Where's the media? uhhhhhhhh. n/t

[madfloridian]

20. I wonder if this is connected to the Gore comments....with more coming.

I have had my tinfoil hat on all day on all of this. Our senators here are trying to hush Gore...all over the papers. I don't know where this is going.....I don't trust Glenda Hood worth a hoot....and she is without legislative oversight...controls elections.

[TLDHOME99]

26. I think a lot of us here in FL . . .

Wear our tinfoil hats 24-7.

A group of us have been talking about a project to help Floridians vote by absentee, paper ballot, so that we know for sure that our votes get counted.

We even talked about having voting stations set up before the election with a notary public (I'm one) or attorney to verify that each paper absentee ballot is valid.

That is how much we trust our elections officials . . . And our dear Gov. Bush.

We are scared to death down here.
:tinfoilhat:
:scared:

[proud patriot]

21. hmmmmmmmmm...This is very interesting timing

:think: I wonder what he knows ...

[loudsue]

23. Isn't this against some FEDERAL law of some kind?

Don't Florida residents have any LEGAL recourse for all of this election gerrymandering?

:kick::kick:

[stickdog]

22. Kast is quitting so thousands of more Floridians can quit casting. (nt)

[Kadie]

24. On USNewswire this morning...

Thousands Who Have Had Their Voting Rights Restored May Remain on FL Purge Lists; Massive Discrepancies Revealed in 2 Government Clemency Lists

6/8/2004 3:15:00 PM


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: National Desk

Contact: Scott Schell, 212-998-6318, or Natalia Kennedy, 212-998-6736, both of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law

NEW YORK, June 8 /U.S. Newswire/ - Documents obtained from the State of Florida reveal that the state's "felon match" list for purging voters may include many of 25,585 people whose voting rights have been restored through clemency grants or pardons. Unless corrective action is taken, those wrongly placed on the purge list will be unable to vote in this year's presidential election.

The Florida Division of Elections (DOE) attempts to identify registered voters who should be taken off the rolls because of previous felony convictions, using criminal history data supplied by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. To avoid the disfranchisement of eligible voters, people with felony convictions who have been granted clemency and had their voting rights restored must be removed from that group; otherwise, their names may be wrongly purged from the voter rolls.

According to research by the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, the Florida Division of Elections database identifies 145,823 individuals who have been granted clemency since 1964. Documents obtained from the Florida Office of Executive Clemency show a different - and larger - number of records of processed clemency cases and pardons over the same period, tallying 171,408 individuals. To obtain official documents click on: http://www.brennancenter.org/programs/downloads/flpurge_press_release_materials.pdf.pdf

The information available to the Brennan Center allowed only for the calculation of the discrepancy between the clemency lists of DOE and the Office of Executive Clemency. Not all 25,585 potential voters making up this difference will appear on the state's purge list. Because the records date back 40 years to 1964, some of the 25,585 have died or moved out of state. Some have never registered to vote notwithstanding the restoration of their civil rights. It is impossible to estimate how many of these 25,585 names will appear on the felon match list, in part because the state refuses access to the list. What is known is that for the 17-year period from 1976 through 1992, when the highest numbers of people had their civil rights restored, the Office of Executive Clemency count of processed cases exceeds the DOE count by 18,582 individuals.

"To settle a federal lawsuit, Florida agreed to clean up the civil rights violations we saw in 2000 when thousands of eligible voters were wrongly identified as having a felony conviction barring them from the polls," said Jessie Allen, associate counsel at the Brennan Center. "Now we're discovering new errors in the administration of Florida's undemocratic laws aimed at separating people from their most basic right as Americans."

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=151-06082004

[nodehopper]

29. some more google info...seems he is against paper trail

cached page:http://216.239.41.104/search?q=cache:DyDElLVxbOcJ:www.sptimes.com/2004/02/14/State/State_rules_touch_scr.shtml+%22and+elections+supervisors+aren%27t+authorized%22+Ed+Kast&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

"TALLAHASSEE - The Department of State has notified elections supervisors that touch screen ballots don't have to be included during manual recounts because there is no question about how voters intended to vote.

While touch screen ballot images can be printed, there is no need and elections supervisors aren't authorized to do so, Division of Elections director Ed Kast wrote in a letter to Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Kurt Browning."