New: Records we obtained show voter access problems in Florida’s 2018 election started long before election day.
The records contain many complaints about technology & user interface errors with Florida’s Online Voter Registration system. #FOIAFriday
americanoversight.org/new-documents-…
Many of the issues in 2018 seemed to stem from problems verifying addresses, leaving some Florida residents frustrated and potentially disenfranchised. “PLEASE FIX THIS,” one implored on July 24, 2018. “THIS IS RIDICULOUS,” they wrote.
Even election officials begged for help. Kaiti Lenhart, the Flagler County supervisor of elections, emailed technical support on July 18, writing that it took her “several attempts to successfully move through the process of OVR,” despite her familiarity with the tool.
In the morning on the day of the 2018 deadline, a staff member from Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections’ office reached out to the Fla. Dept. of State after seeing reports of OVR outages on social media.
Despite repeated assurances the system was working, the complaints about problems with the website persisted.
While these records detail the chaos of a past election cycle, reports of OVR technical glitches earlier this year suggest observers should keep a keen eye on the system as the registration deadline for the general election looms this coming Monday, Oct. 5.
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