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Resolution 059-2010 RESOLUTION NO. 059 - 2010 A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA ADOPTING THE "POSITION PAPER" OF THE FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF SUPERVISORS OF ELECTIONS TO DELAY THE STATE'S UNFUNDED MANDATE REQUIRING COUNTIES TO PURCHASE AND DEPLOY AN AMERICAN WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA)- ACCESSIBLE OPTICAL SCAN PAPER-BASED SYSTEM FROM THE YEAR 2012 TO 2016. WHJEREAS, in 2007, the Florida Legislature voted to make Florida a "Paper Ballot" state; and WHJEREAS, this change in the law will require all counties to purchase and deploy an Americans ~Nith Disabilities Act (ADA)-accessible optical scan paper-based system, of which there is cUIT1ently only one State-certified system which meets this requirement - the AutoMark; and WHJEREAS, in accordance with the 2002 Federal Help America Vote Act (HA V A), Monroe COlmty purchase upgrades to their tabulation system which included forty-eight (48) Accu-Vote 'TSX (touch screen) tabulators at a cost of over $185,000 to comply with this legislation; alnd WH]~REAS, the sixty-three (63) counties that currently use touch screens to comply with HA V A will now be required to purchase the AutoMark or another similar certified system; and WHl8:REAS, the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections (FSASE) has conducted a survey of the counties required to make the voting system change, and it is estimated that the cost will be in excess of $35 million statewide, which does not include any existing debt that many counties have incurred as a result of voting equipment changes made during this decade; and WH)~REAS, the voting system change represents an unfunded mandate form the State of Florida that 'will cost the taxpayers of Monroe County in excess of $336,000 for the 2010-2011 budget; and WHI~REAS, numerous county commIssIons, the disability community and many professional organizations have joined the FSASE in adopting the Association's "Position Paper" (atta(:hed hereto as "Exhibit A") which supports the extension of this requirement to be delayed froIn 2012 until 2016 due to the economic pressures on the Boards of County Commissionters around the state, the operation impact to Supervisor of Elections' budgets, and the fact that 11ew technology has not been developed to allow any person, regardless of disability, to vote indep,endently; now therefore, Page 1 of 2 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that: 1 : The Board of County Commissioners of Monroe County, Florida does hereby adopt the "Position Paper" of the Florida Association of Supervisors of Elections (FSASE) to delay the :State's unfunded mandate requiring Counties to purchase and deploy an ADA- accessible optical scan paper-based system from the year 2012 to 2016. PASSED AND ADOPTED, by the Board of County Commissioners of Monroe County, Florida at a regular meeting on said Board on the 17th day of February , A.D., 2010. Mayor Sylvia Murphy Mayor Pro Tern Heather Carruthers -;"',:~::~:,C;~lmissioner George Neugent . '<3!~~~ssioner Mario DiGennaro , '0cr ~T:eo~ioner Kim Wigington "~'-~1~~'\ .. i. t ",.,.~:' '. .' J. "1f~ .~, BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS -~::-- ~Ir OF MONROE COUNTY, FLORIDA ~" . .:z ~/Dl~ny L. Kolhage, CLERK ""~-""'J~ '~c;'~"~/ # By: ~ Ikputy Clerk Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes By: · - May -r Sylvia Murphy u -y ~~~ ~~=~: r'll ~~~~: I .. (.--~) ..-.-", ~~.~~? CJ ::~ ~~~= ~~~:; i=2 -..:; 0 :T~ ~"..... ~-lJ:> -q C) 1-- rTl Page 2 of 2 ~ c:;, c::::t ." ,." o:J N .&:- ." :z -., ,- fT1 o -" C) ::0 :::::J ,." CJ <::) ;;0 o - .. en \D Position Paper on Why We Want the Extension to 2016 In 2007 the Florida Legislature, at the request of Governor Charlie Crist and Secretary of State KUlrt Browning, voted to make Florida a "paper ballot" state. For thirteen counties in Floridla, this 2007 legislation resulted in the second voting system purchase since 2001 (punch cards to touch screens and then to optical scan). Part of the legislation (F.S. 101.56075) required the conversion of the ADA voting equipment to a "paper ballot" based sy'stem by 2012. The hope was that by 2012 additional ADA voting systems would be developed and certified in the state. The Fedleral2002 Help America Vote Act (HA V A) required all counties to purchase a voting s~ystem for each voting location that would be accessible to persons with any disabilit:V. The majority of the counties purchased touch screens with audio ballots. At the time, tOlLch screens were the only certified accessible voting system in the state. Currentl:y, there is only one certified optical scan (paper) system that meets this requirerrlent - the AutoMark. Today sixty-three (63) counties use touch screens and four ( 4) counties use the AutoMark. The Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections has conducted a survey of the counties required to make the voting system change by 2012. The estimated cost will be nearly $35 million dollars. This does not include existing debt that many counties have incurred from the 2001 and 2007 voting equipment changes. The Association has been working with the disability community on accessible voting equipment since the enactmellt of HA V A, voter education on the accessible voting systems used on Election Day, andl with concerns associated with the 2012 requirement. The disability community is disapp.ointed that development of new technology, especially to encompass all types of disabilities, has not occurred since this legislation passed and that the AutoMark is currentl:y the only "paper based" option available to election officials. Given the choice between continuing to use the touch screens or convert statewide to the AutoMark, the preference is to stay with the current systems in the counties and focus on encouraging voting S)Tstem vendors and the Department of State to focus on development of a system that would serve persons with any type of disability during the voting process, especially with absentee ballots. The follctwing believe that due to the economic pressures on Boards of County Commissioners around the state; the operational impact to Supervisors of Elections budgets; the fact that new technology has not developed to allow any person with any disabilit)T to vote independently; that an extension of this requirement be delayed from 2012 until 2016. Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections A.ssociation Legislative position since 2008 Florida Plssociation of Counties Irlcluded in the 2009 F AC Policy Statement EXHIBIT I A Family ~~etwork on Disabilities of Florida ~~ichard La Belle, Executive Director and member of the State HA V A Plan C:ommittee disAbility Solutions for Independent Living, Inc. Julie Shaw, Executive Director and former Executive ADA Administrator, Ciovemor's Working Group on the ADA 66 County Commissions have agreed with this statement. Updated 9/17/09