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Vote Carefully

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THE SUNCOAST NEWS

Published: November 1, 2008

Tuesday, Americans will settle federal, state and local election contests - from the White House and Congress to the East Lake Tarpon Special Fire Control District and the Pasco Mosquito Control District. The votes that will be cast Nov. 4 in those races and the all the ones in between should be counted. If any aren't, however, in most cases the fault will lie with voters, not the equipment being used or the sinister forces some people devoutly believe "stole" recent elections.

Many voters will have to be careful when they go to the polls Tuesday. Most of those who haven't cast ballots since 2006 will be confronted with the third type of voting equipment to be used since the 2000 election of "hanging chad" infamy. First there was the state-ordered switch from the punch-card systems used without problems for years in Pasco, Pinellas and many other counties to touch-screen voting. Then the state ordered counties that weren't already using them - like Pasco and Pinellas - to dump touch screens and switch to optical-scanning systems.

This costly serial technology shift hasn't made voting less prone to fraud or error. Still, optical scanning it is. So at the polls Tuesday cast your minds back to the days of taking standardized tests in school. When you fill in the ovals on your ballot don't stray over the lines. The fate of our democracy hangs on the steadiness of your hands.

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