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Latest episode of elections circus

Philip Busey

Davie

January 9, 2006

Corporate sponsorship of Broward polling places is the latest distraction from the purpose of elections.

According to Buddy Nevins, a corporation might have employees staff a polling place. Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes indicated that employees could wear their corporate T-shirts.

The employees would donate their $130 to $200 per day to the United Way. Saving no money for the elections office, this would help United Way. But what about the voters?

At some polling places, voters must already wind their way through new cars on sale to reach the voting machines.

It is thus unconscionable to force the voters through a further intrusion of advertising by privatized elections workers. This will reduce voter confidence.

The voter's escape might be an absentee ballot, hoping it does not have the same fate as the missing 58,000 absentee ballot forms in the 2004 presidential election.

With a system that loses ballots every election, and can't verify that every vote is counted, corporate sponsorship is a distracting and deplorable next episode in Broward's elections circus.

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