The country may have already paid dearly for the 2000 election, but it's still costing the state of Florida $153,000 annually.
With the fight over hanging chads long over, members of the state senate are locked in battle over storage of the ballots in the state library, something Secretary of State Kurt Browning doesn't want to pay for.
"I cannot imagine in my wildest of dreams it costing the state $153,000 to maintain a floor that has nothing but shelves on it," Browning told a senate budget committee in Tallahassee yesterday, according to The Palm Beach Post. "No one works on this floor."
"We have gotten to the point where we cannot pay rent," Browning said.
Browning wants to cut public library spending from $25.5 million to $17.5 million and said the fact that the 2000 ballots are being stored is a "thorn in my side."
State GOP leaders argued that the ballots are historic artifacts and need to be kept.
"Well they are historic documents, aren't they?" said committee Chairman Mike Fasano, a Republican from New Port Richey.
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"It's a matter of opinion," Browning said.
"Well, we Republicans think they're historic," said Fasano.
