"One thing is for sure: We need help," Commissioner Betty Ferguson said. "And we need all the help that we can get."
Florida officials needed a week to determine the results of the Sept. 10 gubernatorial Democratic primary, largely because of problems in Broward and Miami-Dade counties with the opening and closing of polls and tallying votes.
The problems, reminiscent of the protracted 2000 presidential election, have been blamed on a lack of training, a lack of familiarity with new computerized voting systems and poor organization.
The Miami-Dade County commissioners voted 6-2 to ask the nonprofit Center for Democracy to monitor the Nov. 5 elections.
Commissioners Natacha Seijas and Jose Cancio voted no, saying the county should be able to handle the election without help from the center, which has observed elections in El Salvador, the Philippines, Poland and Russia.
"I don't want to be part of establishing a precedent that would allow us to be seen as people who cannot take care of what they should be taking care of," Seijas said.
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