WASHINGTON --Gov. Charlie Crist testified before a congressional panel Friday that Florida, which just can't seem to shake a reputation for voting mishaps, is entering "a new era" in voter confidence by moving toward paper ballots.

But while Crist exuded confidence in Washington, his quest for $30 million to junk most of the touch-screen voting machines in 15 counties and replace them with optical scan machines faces an uncertain future.

Florida lawmakers have yet to consider his proposal and both chambers have thus far refused to put the money in their budgets.

"The issue is whether you fund what looks like a mistake, " said House Speaker Marco Rubio, a West Miami Republican, adding, "I don't know why [the counties] gave into temptation to buy these touchscreen machines and listened to the lobbyists for the companies who sold these."

PAPER TRAIL WEIGHED

Crist's testimony came as federal officials are also looking at legislation to require paper trails for voting machines across the United States -- a move prompted in part by 18,000 so-called undervotes in the contested Sarasota congressional district.

The Republican governor -- introduced by Democratic Rep. Robert Wexler of Boca Raton, who has lobbied for years for paper trails -- said Florida is ready to move beyond "the finger pointing and laying blame.

"We've entered a new era, " Crist said. "We want to ensure every Florida vote is counted and verified."

Crist is asking the state Legislature for $30 million to replace touch-screen voting machines in 15 Florida counties with optical scanners, which he said have a "proven track record for accuracy" and provide a paper trail that can be used for a recount.

His proposal also calls for a "ballot on demand" system that would supply an optical scan ballot for all early-voting sites. Also, he said, touch-screen machines used by the disabled or visually impaired would be retrofitted with a voter-verified paper trail.

"Our goal is to restore voter confidence, " Crist said, speaking before the House Administration Committee, which has jurisdiction over federal elections. The panel announced this week that a task force will investigate the November election for the 13th congressional district in Sarasota.

FEDERAL FUNDS

Rep. Dean Cannon, the Winter Park Republican who chairs the panel that oversees the state's elections budget, said he wants to know whether Florida can use federal money -- instead of state tax dollars -- to pay for new machines.

Federal officials have told the state that it can't use federal money to purchase optical scan machines, but can use federal grants to purchase printers for touchscreen machines.

The Florida Department of State estimates that it would cost as much as $7.5 million to add a printer to one touchscreen machine in each precinct in Florida, and another $3 million to add them to machines used in early voting.

There's opposition in the Senate as well, where Senate Majority Leader Dan Webster, R-Winter Garden, said senators want to spend less than Crist has proposed.

Crist downplayed any resistance about the cost of the machines, telling Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., that the state was prepared to cover it.

"It's an important issue, we're willing to pay for it, " Crist said.

After the hearing, he told reporters, "I think the state will meet the obligation. I'm very encouraged by that."

Crist said the state legislation is critical to voters. "They need to have confidence in their vote and they need to be assured that when they cast their vote it's going to count, it's going to make a difference and they can have all the confidence in the world in that process, " he said.

Crist said he was uncertain that Florida could have new machines up and running for a presidential primary in January or February, but said he was "confident we could have it ready for the primary in the fall of 2008."

Wexler noted that the state could get some money out of the $300 million in the federal legislation, should it pass.

He said the state's share is generally about 6 percent -- in this case, about $18 million.

The fate of the federal legislation, too, is unclear. Though Wexler said it has the support of House leaders and he's "cautiously very confident" of its passage, several groups are opposed to making changes so close to the next presidential election.

A representative of the National Association of Counties said the federal legislation would impose "impractical requirements under unrealistic deadlines" and would "needlessly subject counties to tremendous financial burdens."

And McCarthy said he was opposed to the legislation in its current form "because dramatically altering our election laws on the eve of a major presidential election brings up questions of feasibility and costs for state and local jurisdictions."

A task force has been formed to look into the contested Sarasota election.

Clark reported from Washington; Fineout from Tallahassee. Miami Herald staff writers Marc Caputo and Mary Ellen Klas also contributed to this report from Tallahassee.

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