Less Talk of Florida Voting Reform as Jeb Bush Unveils Plan
March 7, 2001
By DANA CANEDY
From The New York Times
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., March 6 — In
his first address to Florida lawmakers
since the presidential election thrust the state
into the international spotlight, Gov. Jeb Bush
outlined his vision for tax relief, investment in
education and improving nursing home care,
but only briefly touched on the 36-day drama
that put his brother in the White House.
Mr. Bush's State of the State address opened
this year's regular session of the Florida
Legislature and was delivered before an
audience that included many of those whose
names and faces became familiar fixtures on
television sets nationwide during the election.
There was Katherine Harris, the now-famous
secretary of state, whose rulings on absentee
ballots and late election returns made her the
subject of numerous lawsuits and equal doses
of criticism and praise. There were John
McKay, the Florida Senate president, and
Tom Feeney, the speaker of the Florida
House, who in December convened a special
session of the Legislature to appoint a slate of
Bush electors.
And there were the Florida Supreme Court justices, whose decision to order a
manual recount of ballots in contested counties across the state was effectively
reversed by the United States Supreme Court, ending former Vice President Al
Gore's challenge of the election results.
Florida is facing a tight budget year, but Mr. Bush, nonetheless, outlined a wish list
of priorities that called for spending more money for teacher recruitment and
retention and improving the quality of nursing homes while also reducing the so-
called intangible tax on assets like stocks and bonds.
"Improving public schools, providing quality long-term care, dealing with
development, cutting taxes, these are all issues that should be at the forefront of the
public agenda," Mr. Bush said.
It hardly seemed like the same State Capitol that was at the center of the election
chaos just four months ago. In fact, the governor's speech, which he delivered in
about 45 minutes, included only two paragraphs at the end about the election.
"And finally," Mr. Bush told the legislators, "we must make reliable and accurate the
very machinery of democracy, the voting process." He urged lawmakers to
"dedicate the resources that are needed to modernize our voting systems and move
forward with confidence into the next election cycle."
The day before his address, Mr. Bush's study group on election reform presented
him with a 78-page report of its findings and recommendations. Mr. Bush said then
that replacing outdated voter equipment across the state was a top priority, though
he gave NO specific recommendations for doing so in his address.
Democrats said Mr. Bush's speech was surprisingly short on references to election
reform, especially given his very public pronouncement the day after the election
was settled that he was appointing a bipartisan study group to recommend
proposals to update the state's voting system.
"What I'm afraid of is that the governor is not making this a front- burner issue," said
Senator Kendrick Meek, a Miami Democrat. "We have to deal with it in this
session."
Several Democratic legislators said the Republicans seemed to be softening their
oratory about the need for election reform, particularly to spending money to
upgrade the system. Mr. Bush's study group has suggested that the state consider
investing up to $40 million to lease optical scanning equipment for use in all of
Florida's 67 counties.
Senator McKay said that he did not favor spending the money to put the equipment
in every precinct but that he and fellow Republicans were still committed to
improving the state's election system. "I think we need to work on voter education,"
Mr. McKay said. And he added: "We will do something. Whether we fix the system
depends on how you define the term fix."
Debate about voting equipment, though, was overshadowed by a focus among
many in legislators on Mr. Bush's proposed $43.3 billion budget, a 3 percent
increase over last year's, and his proposed tax cut on intangible assets. Democrats
say the state cannot afford the cut at a time when a slowing economy has resulted in
a tight budget and possibly having to cut health services and many programs for
single mothers, children and the poor.
But Mr. Bush defended the tax cut in his address, saying it would also help some
people on fixed incomes. "I think we all can agree that taxing people on fixed
incomes or taxing the capital that grows small businesses is bad public policy," he
said.
nytimes.com |
