Once again, our elections administrator, Kathy Dent drops the ball.
Kathy Dent actually dropped the ballot this time. No big surprise if you
are keeping a mental record of Kathy Dent's service as our SOE in Sarasota.

Let's review her resume to date, and forgive me as I am SURE i am
forgetting a couple things:
1. Convinced county to buy paper-less, unauditable machines (ES&S
Ivotronics).
2. Poor ballot design in 2006 caused 18,000 votes to be lost, or the
machines ate them.
3. Fought against SAFE initiative to require paper ballots and hand
audits of 5% of votes cast to check machines for accuracy. Did i
mention she had opposing editorials on tables (ILLEGAL) at every
precinct. Of course cronyism in the prosecutor's office ensured she was
never prosecuted. Oh yeah, the voters approved that by 55% even with
Dent writing op-eds and posting them illegally at precincts.
4. Continued to fight the will of the voters, opposing SAFE in court.
This battle has continued on to the Florida Supreme Court.
5. Sends out absentee ballots with partisan identity on them, clearly
displayed on the envelope.
6. this latest tragedy, of ballots not printed properly, exluding a
race from the ballot.
7. Opposed Instant Runoff Voting in Sarasota city, which was approved
by 78% of the voters in our commUNITY. Still, she has done nothing but
ignore the will of the people to actually implement this system.

Yet the Sarasota Herald Tribune endorses Kathy Dent over Barry
Sullivan. I am ready for another Herald Tribune boycott, personally.
It is endorsements like these that just fly completely in the face of
LOGIC that i can't stomach.

I have personally endorsed Barry Sullivan for Supervisor of Elections.
My bias is stated clearly: i am against Kathy Dent, and Barry Sullivan,
not by default, as he is different on the issues previously mentioned
(supports the SAFE requirements/provisions).

And for the record, I would be offended if you called me a Democrat, or
Republican for that matter. I have no entangling alliances that cloud
my objectivity.

Anthony Lorenzo

PS here is the article form the H/T discussing this latest screw up.
Too bad they didn't retract their endorsement.
Sarasota Fl Elections Supervisor Kathy Dent screws up another election.
<http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20081022/BREAKING/810220284/2055/N\
EWS?Title=Another_Sarasota_County_election_blunder
<http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20081022/BREAKING/810220284/2055/NEWS?Titl\
e=Another_Sarasota_County_election_blunder>>
Surely there will
be more in the days to come, Kathy won't disappoint. She has to exceed
her 2006 screwup.

John Gideon wrote that:
<http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/-Daily-Voting-News-For-Oc-by-JGideon\
-081022-600.html
<http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/-Daily-Voting-News-For-Oc-by-JGideon-081022-\
600.html>>

"69 voters in Sarasota Co Florida received their absentee ballots only
to find that the State Senate District 23 race was left off. Supervisor
of Elections Kathy Dent, whose name appears 8 times on sample ballots,
knew about this problem 11 days ago and claims she told members of the
elections board about it but they deny knowing any specifics...."

# # #

Maybe you remember the hotly contested FL 13 US Congressional Contest in
2006 that had 18,000 undervotes. The machines were ES&S iVotronics.
Kathy Dent was in charge of that election, and she willfully ignored a
warning from the vendor of a problem in the voting machines "smoothing
filter". See E-Vote Memo Is a 'Smoking Gun'
<http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&start=1&q=http://www.wired.com/politics/\
law/news/2007/03/EVOTE_0322&usg=AFQjCNGOjWqClOBV0_NPAlC3FypfWXnF9w
<http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&start=1&q=http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news\
/2007/03/EVOTE_0322&usg=AFQjCNGOjWqClOBV0_NPAlC3FypfWXnF9w>>
.
This problem could cause voters to move on to the next screen, without
actually voting on the first one. ES&S sent Dent a memo urging her to
put signs in the voting booths to warn voters of the delay in recording
votes while moving from one screen to the next, but she chose not to
warn voters.


Here's some less flattering commentary about Kathy Dent: [:D]

The BRAD BLOG : Sarasota Florida's Election Director, Kathy Dent ...
<http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&start=1&q=http://www.bradblog.com/%3Fp%3\
D5937&usg=AFQjCNEwuMoXvQSdtLQBzSRYFBZaM_-ElQ
<http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&start=1&q=http://www.bradblog.com/%3Fp%3D5937&us\
g=AFQjCNEwuMoXvQSdtLQBzSRYFBZaM_-ElQ>>
In other words, the woman entrusted to administrate the Sarasota County,
Florida , elections, Kathy Dent, is a bald-faced liar. ...
www.bradblog.com/?p=5937 <http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5937
<http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5937>>


DISCLAIMER: This message is my own personal opinion and is not to
be construed as representative of any group I am involved with or
chairman of (Citizens for Sunshine, CIRV.org, SAFE). All are
nonpartisan and take no positions on candidates, so i wish to be
clear about.