The Secretary of State s office checks the signatures themselves. A problem is created when county records are not updated frequently enough. As a consequence, the Secretary of State may be dealing with old information. The individual county files showed that circulators were registered to vote three to four weeks prior to the deadline. But that information was not transmitted to the Secretary of State s office prior to the verification process.
Most election officials are conscienctious and hard working.
But in general, statewide and local election divisions are understaffed. Because most signature drives circulate and complete their effort within the same six month time frame, election officials are frequently inundated with signatures from multiple campaigns. In Florida, for example, many campaigns turn in about 650,000 signatures over the course of about four months and there is one piece of paper by every signature. Multiply that by the 37 statewide initiatives that circulated, add to that the 400,000 signatures turned in by four third-party candidate petitions. After you add it all up, it s easy to understand the deluge and stress the officials operate under.