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Hernando Today

Burmann Demands Ballot Do-Over

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By MICHAEL D. BATES Hernando Today

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 18, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Michael Burmann is demanding an absentee ballot do-over after the county supervisor of elections erroneously mailed out 432 of them with candidate names for the County Commission District 1 race listed in the wrong order.

He lays the blame for what he calls a ballot "mess" firmly on the shoulders of Supervisor of Elections Annie Williams and says he is now reserving the right to challenge the outcome of the August primary election.

"I do not believe there will be any way to truly validate the intent of the voter in this instance," Burmann said. "How will (Williams) know which ballot to count, if all (the) 'corrected ballots' are not returned?"

"It is a real mess."
Burmann said Williams, as head of her department, must be held accountable.

"When you make a mistake, you own up to it, you fix it. You don't try and put a Band-Aid on it and go around it," he said.

It will now cost the county an estimated $5,000 to reprint and mail ballots in proper alphabetical order.

Williams said Thursday she and her staff proofed the ballots before they were mailed out and nobody caught it.

"Many eyes looked at it," Williams said. "It's just human error."

Williams said she accepts the blame for the error. The buck, she stressed, stops with her.

Williams said there is no way the incorrect ballots will be tabulated because they have identifiable registration numbers that will be automatically rejected by the department's computer system. Only one ballot per voter will be counted, she said.

The corrected ballots will be mailed out by Saturday, she said.

The mistake was brought to light after a friend of incumbent County Commissioner Jeff Stabins called him after receiving an absentee ballot. He noticed the names on the District 1 commission race were not printed alphabetically.

Burmann's name, which should have been placed first in the three-man Republican race, was listed below that of incumbent Jeff Stabins. The third challenger, Jon "JAZ" Zybendos is correctly listed in the third position on the ballot.
Burmann said he has asked the ballots to be redone with the correct order of names "to maintain the integrity of the election and avoid the inference that there was something wrong."

When Williams discovered the error, Burmann said she should have immediately moved to correct it, instead of contacting Stabins and him and asking them to waive the state rules on alphabetical ballot placement.

If he had signed a waiver, Burmann said he would be "endorsing lack of accountability and choosing to ignore Florida Statutes."

By state law, names on the absentee ballot "shall be arranged alphabetically as to surnames on a primary election ballot."
Burmann said it is "scary" to think that Williams is not up-to-date on the law.

Williams said she is "well aware of the law" and Florida Statutes do not require that incorrect ballots be reprinted.

Meanwhile, Republican Shirley Anderson, running against Williams in the upcoming campaign, questioned her opponent's ability "to perform the most basic of tasks - proofing and printing election ballots."

This latest incident follows Williams' wasting of taxpayer funds when she failed to use a nonprofit mailing rate for previous sample ballots, Anderson said.

Reporter Michael D. Bates can be reached at 352-544-5290 or mbates@hernandotoday.com.

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