美国国家公共电台 NPR--A change to Florida's ballot signature review creates headaches for local officials

A change to Florida's ballot¹ signature review creates headaches for local officials

Transcript²

A change to Florida's election laws has created a new headache for some local election officials.

A little-known provision in Senate Bill 90, a sweeping³ voting measure passed by Florida Republicans last year, increased how much input⁴ the public can have when it comes to approving signatures on mail ballots⁵.

This change comes at a time when local election officials across the country are still dealing⁶ with the fallout of misinformation following the 2020 election.

Wendy Sartory Link has been the supervisor⁷ of elections in Palm Beach County for about three years. She says the job has been fulfilling and more involved than she ever expected. But Link says she's also been surprised by how often she's heard from people who believe the lie that the 2020 election was stolen.

"We get a lot of demands — including, ironically, today — that they want there to be a recount, or actually they want a new election for 2020 because they believe — and these are their words — that the election was stolen," Link said a few weeks ago.

This is a statewide issue, says Mark Earley, who heads elections in Tallahassee's Leon County and is president of the state association of supervisors⁸ of elections. He says small groups of people have been coordinating⁹ and requesting public records, meetings with officials and "demanding opportunities to challenge ballots" as well as voters.

"And that is getting incorporated into some statutes¹⁰ that we are now having to apply," Earley said, referring in part to the new signature review in SB 90.

Most mail ballot signatures clearly match what local officials have on file. But when signatures aren't deemed to be a close-enough match, election staff try to get in touch with the voter to cure their ballot. And if that doesn't happen, Earley says, those signatures go before a canvassing¹¹ board.

"These are just the signatures that are debatable, from our perspective, as to whether they are valid¹² or not," he said.

And historically, this is the point at which the public has been able to weigh in on whether a signature should be approved.

Leslie Scott Jean-Bart, an attorney in Jacksonville, has for years been watching over canvassing boards with her legal partner in Duval County.

"We will object if they discard a ballot that we think matches," she told NPR. "And that just gives us a record. And we will write down the number for what that was and we will write down the reason for the objection."

Very rarely does this affect what signatures get approved by the board. But records are useful, Jean-Bart says, when elections are really close.

Under the new rules, though, Earley says supervisors of elections need to give the public the ability to weigh in earlier — basically at the beginning of the signature inspection¹³ process.

"Now the requirement is for reasonable access to potentially look at a vast number of signatures that our staff has found absolutely no trouble with," he said, "and for outsiders to be able to lodge¹⁴ objections to even these really good quality signatures."

Under Section 101.572 in SB 90, candidates and political parties can appoint anyone they want to inspect voter signatures. There's no training requirement and it's up to supervisors of elections in each of Florida's 67 counties to set parameters¹⁵ on how that's going to work.

And that takes time and money. Link says a local group in Palm Beach County told her they were sending more than a hundred people to inspect ballot signatures this month. So, she bought a big tent and equipment.

"We ramped¹⁶ up to accommodate that," she said. "And now as it turns out we've had many fewer than that." As of last week, only eight people signed up to look at signatures in Palm Beach County, Link's office says.

Earley says in the time this provision has been in effect, he's heard about other issues, too. For example, he's heard of people coming in and demanding broader access than what their county official offers, as well as issuing challenges to signatures that are clearly a match to what's on file.

He says this is all part of a larger issue with growing distrust in elections.

"I absolutely believe this intent is being driven by the misperception out there that you can't trust anything anymore, even your eyes," he said. "That gets to be extremely disruptive for our ability to get our jobs done."

Earley views Florida's primaries — which conclude Tuesday — as a trial run for this new process. He says he's worried the general election in November could be a bigger test.

1 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

4 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

5 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

8 supervisors   

n.监督者，管理者( supervisor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think the best technical people make the best supervisors. 我认为最好的技术人员可以成为最好的管理人员。 来自辞典例句
• Even the foremen or first-level supervisors have a staffing responsibility. 甚至领班或第一线的监督人员也有任用的责任。 来自辞典例句

9 coordinating   

v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的现在分词 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• He abolished the Operations Coordinating Board and the Planning Board. 他废除了行动协调委员会和计划委员会。 来自辞典例句
• He's coordinating the wedding, and then we're not going to invite him? 他是来协调婚礼的，难道我们不去请他？ 来自电影对白

10 statutes   

成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程

参考例句：

• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Each agency is also restricted by the particular statutes governing its activities. 各个机构的行为也受具体法令限制。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

11 canvassing   

v.（在政治方面）游说( canvass的现在分词 )；调查（如选举前选民的）意见；为讨论而提出（意见等）；详细检查

参考例句：

• He spent the whole month canvassing for votes. 他花了整整一个月四处游说拉选票。
• I'm canvassing for the Conservative Party. 我在为保守党拉选票。 来自辞典例句

12 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

13 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

14 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

15 parameters   

因素，特征； 界限； （限定性的）因素( parameter的名词复数 )； 参量； 参项； 决定因素

参考例句：

• We have to work within the parameters of time. 我们的工作受时间所限。
• See parameters.cpp for a compilable example. This is part of the Spirit distribution. 可编译例子见parameters.cpp.这是Spirit分发包的组成部分。

16 ramped   

土堤斜坡( ramp的过去式和过去分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• With the arrival of George Lucas, the pace has ramped up. 随着乔治·卢卡斯的到来，速度大大加快。
• They also sold corporate bonds as the global financial crisis ramped up. 在全球金融危机加剧之际，他们还抛售了公司债券。