VOTING ISSUES

JUDGE DISMISSES TOUCH-SCREEN VOTING MACHINE LAWSUIT

MIAMI – Eight days before Election Day, a federal judge ruled yesterday that Florida’s touch-screen voting machines do not have to produce a paper record for use in case a recount becomes necessary.

U.S. District Judge James Cohn said the machines “provide sufficient safeguards” by warning voters if they have not cast a vote in a particular race and by allowing them to give their ballots a final review.

Rep. Robert Wexler, a Democrat of Florida, had sought either a paper record or an order switching voters in 15 counties from touch-screens to optically scanned paper ballots by 2006.

The Florida secretary of state’s office has said the machines have had a successful track record since they were introduced to the state in 2002, following the punch-card debacle during the 2000 presidential election.

“Florida voters should have complete confidence in the voter systems we’re using, and for Congressman Wexler to try to erode the voter confidence or put doubt in the voter’s mind does a real disservice to the voters of Florida,” said a spokeswoman for the secretary of state, Jenny Nash.

Judge Cohn, who heard three days of testimony last week, said a paper printout allowing voters to make sure their selections are correct would be preferable. But he said he was limited to determining whether the current procedures are constitutionally sound. Mr. Wexler said he planned to appeal.

– Associated Press

PRESIDENTIAL RACE

IN ITS FIRST POLITICAL ENDORSEMENT, MAGAZINE BACKS KERRY

The New Yorker has made the first political endorsement in its 80-year history, backing Senator Kerry in next week’s presidential election.

The magazine says the Bush administration’s record “has been one of failure, arrogance, and – strikingly for a team that prided itself on crisp professionalism – incompetence” and that Mr. Kerry “has demonstrated steadiness and sturdiness of character” throughout his career.

The five-page editorial in the November 1 issue criticizes President Bush’s tax cuts, his environmental policies, his execution of the war in Iraq, and his Justice Department’s record of “secrecy and arrogance.”

Of Iraq it says that “the cakewalk led over a cliff, to a succession of heedless and disastrous mistakes that leave one wondering, at the very least, how the Pentagon’s civilian leadership remains intact and the president’s sense of infallibility undisturbed.”

The editorial criticizes Mr. Kerry for an “uneven” performance on the stump and says, “He can be cautious to a fault, overeager to acknowledge every angle of an issue; and his reluctance to expose the administration’s appalling record bluntly and relentlessly until very late in the race was a missed opportunity.” But it adds, “He is plainly the better choice.”

Asked why the magazine was endorsing a candidate for the first time, spokeswoman Perri Dorset said, “We believe this is a very critical election and an important time in our country and we decided we want to make a statement about it.”

– Associated Press

CONGRESSIONAL RACES

BUNNING TRIES TO AVOID LATE COLLAPSE IN KENTUCK Y SENATE RACE

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As their ace pitcher, Jim Bunning watched the Philadelphia Phillies’ seemingly insurmountable 6 1 /2-game lead for the National League pennant slip away in one of the biggest collapses in baseball history.

Four decades later, in what Yogi Berra might describe as “deja vu all over again,” the hall of famer-turned-politician has squandered a double-digit lead in his race for a second term in the U.S. Senate.

This time, the Kentucky Republican’s problem has been a series of embarrassing gaffes that have eroded his lead over Democratic long-shot challenger Daniel Mongiardo to 6 percentage points and produced editorials questioning whether Mr. Bunning, at 73, is mentally fit.

First, he compared Mr. Mongiardo’s appearance to one of Saddam Hussein’s sons. Then he made an unsubstantiated claim that opposition staffers beat his wife “black and blue” at a political picnic. Most recently, he admitted he wasn’t aware that a group of Army reservists had refused a convoy mission in Iraq, saying he watches only Fox News for information and hasn’t read a newspaper in six weeks.

“Bunning has run one of the least impressive campaigns for an incumbent in the country this year,” said Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. Nonetheless, Mr. Sabato expects Mr. Bunning to hang on for a victory November 2. “A few off-color remarks…are not enough to generate a meltdown. It’s enough to get you a close race,” Mr. Sabato said.

Mr. Mongiardo,a 44-year-old state senator and doctor from the Appalachian town of Hazard, was not expected to mount a serious challenge to Mr. Bunning but has ended up a tenacious campaigner who has capitalized on Mr. Bunning’s missteps.

– Associated Press