Student Handout Number 4 “Civil Rights Commission Revisits Florida and Hears Warnings of Future Election Problems” By Aron Goetzl   electionline.org Published 6/27/2002   “MIAMI,  Fla.  –  While  election  reform  might  have  transcended party  politics  in  Congress  and  many  state  legislatures,  it  can  still roil deep partisan tensions here.   Local   Democratic   legislators   and   election   officials,   along   with representatives   from   left- leaning  civil  rights  groups,  warned  the U.S.   Commission   on   Civil   Rights   last   week   at   a   hearing   in downtown Miami that there would be more problems for Florida in November’s   election   because   state   Republicans   had   not   done enough  to  fix  the  many  problems  that  plagued  the  disputed  2000 presidential election.   Gov.   Jeb   Bush   and   Secretary   of   State   Katherine   Harris,   both Republicans, responded one day later by attacking the credibility of the  liberal- majority commission and its chairwoman, Mary Frances Berry.     Clearly,  Florida  Democrats’  outrage  at  the  administration  of  the 2000 race has yet to dissipate. If the warnings from the panelists at last  week’s  commission  hearing  are  borne  out  in  the  September primary and November general elections, that anger may seethe for some time to come. Those   that   did   show   up   said   essentially   the   same   thing:   The legislature  and  the  governor  did  act  in  some  areas,  but  they  didn’t go   far   enough.   Citing   an   inadequate   definition   of   provisional balloting,  a  lack  of  voter  education,  and  a  new  and  still  untested statewide  voter  file,  combined  with  the  usual  problems  associated with  redistricting,  most  witnesses  testified  that  the  2002  elections are  likely  to  be  troublesome  again  for  Florida  voters,  particularly racial and language minorities.   “I know that there’s going to be mass confusion on Election Day,” State   Sen.    Kendrick   Meek   (D-Miami)   said.   “We’re   taking   the victim back to the scene of the crime. The only good thing I can see we have done [since 2000] is get rid of the punch cards.”