Iowan helps examine election laws

An Iowa woman is one of 30 officials from across the country who’re serving on a task force examining election laws in the wake of the Florida recount fiasco. Deputy Marshall County Auditor Dawn Williams says public confidence was damaged by what happened in Florida, but she doesn’t blame the punch card machines that produced those much-maligned “chads”. She says the jurisdictions that gave voters good instructions didn’t have the problems.Williams says this is no time to be complacent in Iowa.Optical scanner machines are used in 77 Iowa counties. Voters are given a computer sheet and asked to fill in ovals beside their picks. Williams says if there’s a re-count in Iowa, there’s no clear direction for dealing with ballots that aren’t filled out properly.Williams will attend three more election reform task force meetings over the next three months.