Florida Representatives Urge Formation of Task Force to Investigate Contested Sarasota Election 
Reps. Wexler, Hastings, Wasserman Schultz, Boyd, Brown, Meek, Klein, Castor, and Mahoney Send Letter to Democratic Leadership Urging Action Following Revelations of Machine Irregularities

(Washington, DC)  Today, nine members of the Florida Congressional delegation sent a letter to House Administration Committee Chairwoman Juanita Millender-McDonald, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer urging that a task force be established immediately to review the 2006 contested election in the 13th District of Florida. 

The letter follows recent revelations published in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune revealing that voting machine manufacturer ES&S warned Sarasota County officials prior to the 2006 election that the voting machines were experiencing problems.  Corrective action was not taken by Sarasota officials following the warning.  

A copy of the letter is provided below.

Congressman Wexler is Chairman of the Europe Subcommittee, a senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the House Judiciary Committee, and he also sits on the Financial Services Committee.


March 15, 2007

The Honorable Juanita Millender-McDonald
Chairwoman
House Administration Committee
1309 Longworth House Office Building
Washington DC 20515

The Honorable Vernon Ehlers
Ranking Republican
House Administration Committee
1313 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairwoman Millender-McDonald and Representative Ehlers:

    We write with deep concern regarding recent press accounts in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune indicating that the potential for voting irregularities during the 2006 election for Representative in Congress from Florida’s 13th District was known long before the November election, yet officials from the State of Florida and the Sarasota County Supervisor of Elections’ Office took no preventive measures.

According to this press account, Election Systems & Software, Inc. (ES&S), the manufacturer of the touch-screen voting equipment in Sarasota County, notified the County Supervisor of Elections, as early as August 15, 2006, that calibration “issues” existed with the voting machines.  However, the news report continues, even after ES&S acknowledged problems with the machines, the appropriate software patch was never applied to the machines because Florida election officials determined that the immediacy of the election date did not provide sufficient time to make such updates.  According to the report, Florida election officials made this decision despite ES&S’ belief that the task needed to be, and could be, completed before the November 2006 election.

That these revelations are coming to light now, through press reports, suggests that the potential for fraud in this election was real, that it was known by the responsible officials and that these officials did nothing about it.  Further, that these reports came to light through press reports strongly suggests that this investigation is far from complete.

As you know, this particular congressional election is currently being contested under the Federal Contested Elections Act (2 USC 381-396) because Sarasota County’s election returns indicated nearly 18,000 blank ballots, or undervotes, on the ES&S system.  As questions about the integrity of this election continue to mount, it becomes all the more important for the House of Representatives to exercise its constitutional responsibility to resolve this election contest.

Therefore, we request the immediate formation of an official House task force to review this election pursuant to the Federal Contested Elections Act.  We further request that the task force take prompt steps to ensure a full and fair investigation into the Sarasota County voting machines' hardware (including the faulty touch-screens), software, and source code.  The voters of Florida — and indeed the people of this entire Nation — deserve nothing less. 

We all know that the House of Representatives has the responsibility to ensure that the elections of its Members — Republican or Democrat — are valid, legitimate and honest.  We must do everything in our power to restore the confidence of voters in Florida’s 13th Congressional District and throughout our State.  Reviewing last November’s election in the 13th District is the first step in this critical process.
 
Thank you for your consideration of our request.  We look forward to your expeditious response and welcome the opportunity to discuss this with you further.

               


Sincerely,


   
Alcee L. Hastings       
Robert Wexler           
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Allen Boyd           
Corrine Brown       
Kendrick B. Meek   
Ron Klein           
Kathy Castor           
Tim Mahoney

CC:    The Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives
    The Honorable Steny Hoyer, Majority Leader, House of Representatives
    The Honorable John Boehner, Minority Leader, House of Representatives

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Congressman Wexler is Chairman of the Europe Subcommittee and a senior member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the House Judiciary Committee; and he also sits on the Financial Services Committee.

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