Posted on 09/04/2002 10:20:08 AM PDT by Tumbleweed_Connection
A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed by civil rights groups against Florida officials over that state’s results in the 2000 presidential election. The results of a bitter recount allowed Republican George W. Bush to claim Florida’s 25 electoral votes and the presidency over Democrat Al Gore.
The NAACP and other civil rights groups filed the lawsuit last year alleging that thousands of black Floridians were denied their right to vote because of faulty election equipment, inadequate and mishandled voter registration procedures and a flawed system of removing convicted felons and others from voter registration lists.
The defendants, in the settlement, did not admit to any of the plaintiffs' allegations.
However, as part of the settlement, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the Florida Department of Children and Families, and Hillsborough and Orange Counties all signed separate agreements to continue making improvements in their voter registration and overall election systems to avoid problems that plagued many voters during the November 2000 election.
The Florida Division of Elections also agreed to create a new position to monitor the state's compliance with the National Voter Registration Act, known as the "motor voter" law.
In a joint statement issued to reporters in Miami, the civil rights groups and the defendants, which included Florida Secretary of State Jim Smith, said that while they "may not agree with the scope, impact and effect of the problems that surfaced during the 2000 presidential election, they share a common desire to promote the continuation and enhancement of election reform in Florida which transcends their differences."
Miami Federal District Judge Alan Gold received the settlement on Tuesday. A spokesperson told CNSNews.com that the judge and the parties involved would finalize the matter on Thursday. The parties last month agreed to work out a settlement in order to avoid a trial.
Earlier in the case, settlements were reached between the plaintiffs and election supervisors in the counties of Broward, Duval, Leon, Miami-Dade and Volusia Counties, as well as with Choice Point, Inc., a private contractor that played a role in identifying possible ineligible voters in 1999 and 2000.
Katherine Harris, who served as secretary of state during the 2000 recount and is now a GOP candidate for Congress from the Sarasota area, did not return phone calls Wednesday seeking comment.
The settlement came just days before a statewide primary election. Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, attorney Bill McBride and state Sen. Darryl Jones are vying for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination to face incumbent Republican Gov. Jeb Bush in November.
The primary election is set for next Tuesday.
Exactly what do they have to do with improving voting conditions?
Show me ONE , show me just one person that was denied the ability to vote. To my knowledge no one has.
OK .. I may be slow .. but what the heck do these departments have anything to do with voter registration ..
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles .. Maybe
but ... Department of Children and Families????
Ya gotta love it when Democrats are eating their own.
Democrats calling for more fair elections is shooting themselves in the foot.
Not if they get to define "fair."
If that isn't the most ludicrous comment made by the race hustlers, I don't know what could be worse.
I hate to be the one to tell them this, but even if voter fraud is made so impossible it's practically wiped out, and if military ballots aren't summarily thrown out by the sore-loser of the election.....
So, this is actually a victory.
....On a different note Florida Department of Children and Families got to do with elections? OH...the Democrats hope to get more votes that way. Forget it.
Not really. He was probably trying to jack a car and was too busy running to bother to vote.
I'm not a Floridian, but I think that in many states (maybe all...) you are automatically registered to vote when you go claim any government benefits like WIC vouchers, AFDC, etc., just as if you had gotten a driver's liscense. Yes, it is a move to register voters who rely on government handouts.
No settlement with any branch of Florida government is going to make this condition go away.
People who are too ignorant can be educated but stupidity can't be legislated (or settled) out of existance.
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