FLORIDA VOTING PROBLEMS ALREADY
Confusion over voter registration forms leaves activists bitter
By Monica Panakos

Across the state, election offices have been tossing out thousands of incomplete voter registration forms, igniting rumors and prompting a whirlwind of lawsuits and controversy as Election Day nears.

In Orange County alone, 4,800 of the 66,000 registration forms turned in since January have been thrown out. Since the last presidential election was decided in Florida by only 537 votes, many voters and voter organizations are worried that this election's registration form could become equivalent to the last election's hanging chad.

Many of the incomplete forms were dismissed because voters left boxes unchecked, including those that asked whether they were U.S. citizens, felons or mentally competent. Other voters misread some of the questions, and wrote U.S.A. under the county slot.

Freshman Michael Petrovich, 18, who completed his registration form in front of the Student Union last month, understands why the form left so many confused.

"When you're registering to vote out there, you're in a high-paced environment," he said. "This causes many students to rush through the questions. It's easy to miss information."

Petrovich just wants things to run smoothly this year. "I hope it doesn't put Florida back where it was four years ago, on the hot seat."

Bill Cowles, who serves as president of the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections and has been Orange County's supervisor of elections for the past eight years, defends the number of tossed out incomplete forms. "The percentage is not unusual," he said.

Despite the recommendation made by Glenda Hood, Florida's secretary of state, to throw out all registration forms with unchecked citizen boxes, Cowles will still accept them. This is a big relief to voter groups throughout Orange County.

He added that despite rumors, the color of the ink used to fill out the forms doesn't matter. His office will accept any color, as long as it is legible.

Cowles wants people to focus on what really matters: encouraging voters to show up at the polls. "Registering to vote is the easy part; showing up to vote isn't," he said.

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