Federal court orders trial in Florida e-ballot lawsuit
good news:
A federal appeals court on Monday overturned a judge who had thrown out a lawsuit seeking a paper trail for that state's new touchscreen voting machines.
Fifteen 15 Florida counties use voting machines that don't create paper copies.
Three judges from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote that the federal judge erred when he threw out the lawsuit filed by U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, a south Florida congressman.
"We vacate that decision and remand for a consideration of the merits," the unsigned ruling reads.
A state appeals court ruled last month that a paper trail of ballots was not required, ruling that voters are not guaranteed "a perfect voting system."
Wexler had argued that the paperless voting system makes manual recounts impossible. He sued state elections officials, arguing that constitutional promises of equal protection would be violated by a voting system that varies from county to county in Florida.
"This is a huge win," Wexler spokeswoman Lale Mamaux said from his Washington office.
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