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Sunrise, Florida - To Miriam Oliphant, the keys to life and elections are the same: preparation and organization. These days the Broward County election supervisor is all about details - 60 classes a week for county poll workers, an inventory of iVotronic voting machines stacked in a warehouse, even blue aprons for precinct clerks that will hold the all-important computer-card keys needed to operate the machines. "I am going to do everything I possibly can to correct a system that has been broken," Oliphant said. "We know change is long overdue in Broward County." Across the nation, election officials are...

Election officials said Friday that they will comply with an opinion from the state requiring political diversity among poll workers Tuesday. The decision by Supervisor of Elections Miriam Oliphant heads off a possible court challenge to the election by Republicans. Republicans had feared that Oliphant would stack the precincts with Democrats. Robert Buschel, the lawyer for the supervisor, said Oliphant has agreed to comply with the opinion by the state Division of Elections that state law requires no polling place can have workers of only one party.

Votes for Harris could be tossed outBY GARY FINEOUT CAPITAL BUREAU09/07/02 TALLAHASSEE -- Congressional candidate Katherine Harris finds herself in a situation that seems straight out of a movie. Two years ago, as secretary of state, she issued rulings in the contested presidential election of 2000 that did not allow some counties to finish hand-counting disputed ballots. Now, running for the 13th Congressional District, Harris is dealing with the growing possibility that a Leon County judge will not rule before Tuesday's primary on whether she should be removed from the ballot. That means Republican voters could wind up voting...

There is a poll on today's main page of the online SHT website (remember, that's "Sarasota Herald-Tribune"!). It's in the middle column about halfway down the page. The question asked is, "Should Katherine Harris be allowed to run for Congress?". So far it's about 50/50 between "Yes. She didn't break the law" and "No.". Vote early. Vote often! Click HERE to take the poll.

Harris' candidacy in judge's handsBy GARY FINEOUT, CAPITAL BUREAU08/30/02 TALLAHASSEE -- Before Katherine Harris makes it to Congress, she must not only win over the voters of Southwest Florida but she also must win over a Leon County judge who could derail her candidacy. Circuit Judge Kevin Davey, the same judge who declared Florida's voucher program unconstitutional earlier this year, spent more than an hour Thursday hearing arguments on whether or not Harris should be removed from the ballot because she did not properly qualify. It was a strikingly similar scene to the legal battles in the 2000 presidential election...

<p>TALLAHASEE, Fla. — Tampa lawyer Bill McBride has gotten more than eight times as much help from the state Democratic Party than Janet Reno, his opponent in the gubernatorial primary, but party officials insist it has nothing to do with favoritism.</p>

Democratic challengers gain, but Bush keeps lead in poll By Linda Kleindienst Tallahassee Bureau Chief Posted July 2 2002 TALLAHASSEE · Janet Reno continues to maintain a strong lead over fellow Democrats in their battle to face Republican Gov. Jeb Bush in November, but her closest challenger could pose a bigger threat to the incumbent governor's re-election bid, according to a new Sun-Sentinel poll. Reno, the former U.S. attorney general who enjoys widespread name recognition, leads her nearest rival, Tampa lawyer Bill McBride, by more than two-to-one -- 45 to 18 percentage points. Miami state Sen. Daryl Jones is a...

Do Floridians like Gov. Bush for who he is or what he does?By GARY FINEOUT CAPITAL BUREAUposted 07/01/02 OCALA -- It happens every time Jeb Bush shows up in public, and it was no different over the weekend in Marion County. A buzz, an excitement, an eagerness among anyone near him. Whether it's a room full of other elected officials or this campaign stop Saturday at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. off-track betting hall, the effect is the same: Everyone in the room wants to talk to the governor, touch him, shake his hand, get his autograph on everything from...