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Slot machine measure wins by computer glitch { November 5 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.sptimes.com/2004/11/05/State/Slots_measure_scratch.shtmlhttp://www.sptimes.com/2004/11/05/State/Slots_measure_scratch.shtml
Election 2004
Slots measure scratches way to narrow approval
Elections officials say votes that were nearly lost to a computer glitch put the gambling measure over the top.
By ALISA ULFERTS and DAVID ADAMS
Published November 5, 2004
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TALLAHASSEE - After previously rejecting casino gambling, Florida voters have narrowly approved a constitutional amendment to allow slot machines in two South Florida counties.
The amendment will enable voters in Broward and Miami-Dade County to take a separate vote to allow slot machines at seven existing parimutuel facilities. Amendment 4 passed by 2 percentage points, enough to avoid a recount.
With all precincts reporting, there were 3,609,754 votes for the amendme, or 51 percent, and 3,516,415 against.
The amendment appeared headed for defeat or at least to a contentious recount until supporters in Broward County discovered a software glitch late Wednesday night.
The number of absentee ballots cast in favor of the amendment was decreasing as the night wore on.
The software program stopped counting votes at a predetermined number, and started reducing the number of yes votes. The problem was detected two years ago but never was fixed, Broward officials said. The software was corrected Thursday morning and the count proceeded.
The error could have changed the outcome. At the time, Amendment 4 was losing statewide by fewer than 7,000 votes. But there were tens of thousands of absentee ballots left to count in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
"We would have lost 70,000 votes," said Ron Book, a lobbyist representing Floridians for a Level Playing Field, which supported the amendment.
With the votes correctly tabulated, state elections officials ruled Thursday that the amendment received enough votes to avoid an automatic recount.
State law requires a machine recount if the margin of victory is less than one-half of 1 percent.
"We want this to be over with so we can call it a good day for Florida schools and children," said former Education Commissioner Jim Horne, who led the campaign to pass the amendment.
Any taxes levied on the machines must supplement state education money. Should the state Legislature fail to tax the machines, schools would get 30 percent of the revenue because of a contract the parimutuels signed with the Florida School Boards Association in the closing days of the campaign.
Slot machine supporters have said the measure could raise as much as $500-million a year for schools.
Given the support Amendment 4 received in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, Horne said he is confident local officials will put the question the ballot and that voters will approve it. The constitutional amendment was approved by 67 percent of Broward voters and 57 percent of Miami-Dade voters.
"It looks like, based on the vote tally, that it would pass overwhelmingly," Horne said.
The issue is tentatively scheduled for discussion at the next Broward County Commission meeting, Book said.
Some amendment opponents were not satisfied that the machine tabulation was accurate. Rep. Randy Johnson, the Celebration Republican who led the opposition, said there was a "statistical anomaly" with the vote count.
The measure received yes votes on 94 percent of absentee ballots in Broward, but got yes votes on 64 percent of ballots cast by voters at the polls, Johnson said.
"It's distressing to us that we heard about this at the 13th hour," said Johnson, who has not ruled out a challenge. Several animal rights groups already have sued, saying dead people were listed among those who signed the petition to put the measure on the ballot. That trial is scheduled to begin in January.
"We are particularly concerned about the votes that were added as a result of the computer glitch," Johnson said.
The error appears to stem from a ceiling built into the vote counting software that did not allow the count in any precinct to go above 32,000. The cap was exceeded about 11 p.m. Wednesday. About 94,000 absentee and provisional ballots were processed in Broward.
The error affected only the count of absentee votes on countywide questions. The glitch should have been corrected by software manufacturer ES&S, said Broward County Mayor Ilene Lieberman.
"I was so angry last night," Lieberman said. It was fixed after she spoke to ES&S representatives early Thursday morning.
Why the cap was built into the software is unclear. Company officials told a public radio station they had previously sent a fix to the county, but county officials denied that.
[Last modified November 5, 2004, 01:23:37]
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