Introduction

Florida held the country captive at the end of 2000 as it made frenzied attempts to determine a winner in the tight presidential race between Al Gore and George W. Bush.

Gore contested the results and demanded manual recounts in four counties, exposing a myriad of problems across a sloppy Florida elections landscape.

The state resembled a circus as the world witnessed bug-eyed poll workers holding punch-card ballots to the light to examine hanging, dimpled and pregnant chads; as television cameras carried live feeds of semi-trucks filled with ballots being transported from one facility to another; and as the term butterfly ballot became synonymous with incompetence. READ MORE

Statewide Reforms

In March 2001, the Governor's Select Task Force on Election Procedures, Standards and Technology made 29 recommendations affecting the Florida Division of Elections and the state Department of Education.Of the 29 recommendations, 23 were later passed into law. The six remaining recommendations were either voted down by the Legislature, conflicted with federal law or were not needed because the state Division of Elections developed its own curriculum to address the issue. READ MORE

County Reforms

In March 2001, the Governor's Select Task Force on Election Procedures, Standards and Technology released a report with 35 recommendations on how to improve Florida's elections process. Seven of those recommendations called for action from each of the supervisors of election in the state's 67 counties. READ MORE

The Cost

Embarrassed by the 2000 election debacle, Florida began spending money on the state’s election infrastructure. Over the course of the decade, more than $130 million in federal funds flowed to Florida to upgrade election equipment, train poll workers, and educate the public.

The state’s budget for elections in 2000 was $5.8 million. By 2010, total state election funding nearly tripled to $15.1 million, with much of the increase coming from an infusion of federal dollars under the Help America Vote Act.

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Voting Irregularities

President George W. Bush signed the Help America Vote Act into law in 2002 to provide federal funds to states for elections improvements.

With state and federal money in hand, local supervisors updated their systems. Many jumped on the touch-screen voting bandwagon, the newest technology available. It would be a relatively brief affair.

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Poll Worker Training

Before passage of the 2001 election reforms, the law provided little information about poll worker training. Nor did it require formal training.The 2001 law requires a minimum number of training hours for each poll worker position. In addition, the topics to be taught are outlined in the election code. READ MORE

Voter Education

In the weeks after the 2000 election debacle in Florida, Gov. Jeb Bush asked the Collins Center for Public Policy to oversee a task force assembled to analyze the state’s elections system and recommend improvements. In March 2001, the expert panel produced a report with 35 recommendations. This report examines how the state and county supervisors of elections responded. READ MORE

At A Glance

The issue: Elections Reform

Summary: Florida became a laughingstock in 2000 as the nation awaited the results of the presidential race between George W. Bush and Al Gore. Alarmed by the spectacle, Gov. Jeb Bush asked the Collins Center for Public Policy to oversee a task force convened to analyze flaws in Florida's elections process. The task force responded in March 2001 with 35 recommendations touching on every aspect of the elections process, from the way votes are cast, to poll worker training, to ballot design. Today, every county uses the same voting hardware to cast ballots. The machines leave a paper trail that voters and elections officials can review if necessary. Paperless touch-screen voting machines are outlawed. Ballot designs are uniform across the state. Work remains, however. Attracting more qualified poll workers is proving difficult. The down economy is affecting voter education programs. Opening the process to more early voters, and to more absentee voters, creates new challenges. In all, the state spent $130 million in federal money to improve the elections process. And by all accounts Florida is better positioned to run a smooth vote, or to fix problems if they occur.