Another Florida...in Florida, or, "The Computer Ate My Vote"

Almost all the electronic records from the first widespread use of touch-screen voting in Miami-Dade County have been lost, stoking concerns that the machines are unreliable as the presidential election draws near.

The records disappeared after two computer system crashes last year, county elections officials said, leaving no audit trail for the 2002 gubernatorial primary. A citizens group uncovered the loss this month after requesting all audit data from that election.

I awoke this morning after a pleasant night's sleep in the warm afterglow of Obama and Teresa (and of the latter, isn't it curious that after yesterday's press was practically engorged with stories of the "loose cannon," this morning I can find nary a mention of her wonderful address last night?). Then I read this and the dream turns into a nightmare.

Add to the mix a state elections commissioner whose only qualification for the job seems to have been her ties to the Bush dynasty, a list of felons disqualified from voting that seems to have ommitted any Hispanics, and a refusal by the governor (did I mention his name is Bush?) to permit a paper record of the votes, and well, hilarity is sure to ensue.

Many critics of touch-screen voting, including U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla., have urged installation of a paper backup system to allow manual recounts of individual ballots in close elections.

Previously, opponents of a paper backup system -- including Gov. Jeb Bush and Hood --have argued that a paper trail is unnecessary because of the presence of the audit logs.

That is, if you find watching our Democracy slip on a banana peel, breaking its hip, hilarious.