Slats Murphy, Senior SCW columnist

Seminole County's interim appointed Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel is stepping out onto some slippery ice this week, despite knowing full well the potential pratfalls awaiting him.

Ertel has organized a meeting this Tuesday night, starting at 7 PM at the Supervisor of Elections office, that will bring together representatives from 20 community organizations, many of them politically rooted, to discuss the elections process and challenges faced by his office.

Ertel has dubbed his forum as Democracy 2012, and says its purpose is to "give participants an opportunity to discuss issues which will affect elections for years to come."

Among those invited are representatives of the local Republican, Democrat and Libertarian parties, the four chambers of commerce within Seminole, the League of Women Voters, the Christian Coalition, the disability community and other community members.  The public is also invited to attend and observe the proceedings.

Ertel is looking for candor and diversity of thought from those who actually show up and take part.   "Spirited debate is certain," says Ertel.

The obvious question that comes to mind is whether such activities are the type that should take place under the purview and sponsorship of the Supervisor of Elections office.

Above all else, Ertel's mandate as Seminole's interim appointed elections chief is to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the electoral process and its outcome.  His job is to facilitate access to the polls for all who are entitled to such access, and to ensure their votes are accurately counted, without prejudice or favor to any of the contestants.

It is difficult to see how that mandate is fulfilled, or aided, by bringing together 20 hand-picked "representatives" of the community to discuss and debate issues being faced by Ertel's staff in carrying out the duties of the Supervisor of Elections office.

Among the issues Ertel says will be discussed are touch-screen voting technology, paper-verified electronic voting, the new look of polls on election day, early voting, and new requirements stemming from the Help America Vote Act, among others.  

Ertel says that his goal "is to establish a forum that allows for civil, open dialogue on these issues," adding, "I'm sure they're will be disagreement among forum members, but the discussion of these issues is a good thing."

Is it really a "good thing" for Ertel to create a scenario wherein future decisions emanating from his office can be justified through the assemblage of an unbalanced, possibly skewed panel of community "representatives" whose views do not necessarily reflect those of the community they are purported to represent?

Let's assume the subject at hand is touch-screen voting and the related issue of paper trails.  Suppose a clear majority of the forum's participants say that paper trails are not important to them. 

It then follows that the Supervisor of Elections could assert his office agrees with such lack of community concern with seeking a paper trail that, although essential to the accuracy and reliability of any necessary recount, is not favored by Florida Secretary of State Glenda Hood, whose office oversees the matter.

Ertel does not even know who will attend his planned forum this Tuesday evening, saying he "specifically didn't ask for an RSVP, as I wanted the invitees to feel free to come last minute."

Not only is there the matter of who will actually participate, but also who was invited.  An interesting line in Ertel's press release states that invitees include "a representative from the League of Women Voters and the Christian Coalition."  By linking those two organizations together, Ertel implies some sort of equality between the two.

Yet there is a major difference in their functions and purpose.  Whereas the League of Women Voters has a longstanding history of non-partisan support of the elections process, the Christian Coalition has a clearly focused agenda that has often been transformed into a very aggressive pursuit of its goals.

Ertel's linkage equates an organization with a longstanding history of seeking to bring all voters to the process with one that seeks to bring specific targeted voters into the process in support of targeted candidates.

Given Seminole County's history, specifically regarding the 2000 elections, it seems Ertel's time and attention would be better spent focusing on ensuring the integrity and outcome of the elections process, rather than bringing together representatives of differing political views in a forum designed to highlight their contentiousness.

Although moderating "spirited debate" among community activists may be more exciting than merely counting ballots, the latter is the actual reason for the existence of the office Ertel holds, no matter how mundane it may seem in comparison.

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