And yet the blacks in the panhandle aren't upset that the state was called before the polls closed.
Posted on 10/11/2004 1:56:27 PM PDT by Former Military Chick
QUINCY, Fla. — Many of Florida's 1 million black voters still feel cheated that their votes weren't counted in the state's flawed election four years ago. But for some, such as those here in rural Gadsden County, that bitter memory has elicited a surge of activism in the 2004 presidential race.
The Panhandle county, overwhelmingly Democratic and nearly 60% black, has its first African American elections supervisor traveling to schools and churches to demonstrate new ballot-reading machines.
County officials have added 10 polling locations and will send a sample ballot to the home of every registered voter, rather than just publish it in the newspaper.
And Shirley Aaron, a 63-year-old Democratic organizer, is wandering back roads, talking to poor black families who've never been approached for their vote. She also attends possum festivals and gospel revivals to tell blacks that this time their vote will count.
"The Republicans stole that 2000 election, and we plan to take it back the American way," said Aaron, who is white.
The stakes are high for both Sen. John F. Kerry and President Bush. A higher black turnout probably would bolster Kerry's support because blacks backed Al Gore by a margin of 9 to 1 in 2000.
But in Gadsden County, Florida's only county with a black majority, the largest percentage of presidential ballots were discarded four years ago. Nearly 2,000 ballots, an estimated 12% of the total, were tossed out. They were among tens of thousands of ballots from African Americans disqualified statewide in that election.
Although they have no proof, many black residents believe partisan election officials and Republican Gov. Jeb Bush disqualified those votes to help his older brother win the presidency. And they have little confidence in new Secretary of State Glenda Hood, a Republican gubernatorial appointee.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Nope. They have convinced every Black Floridian that George W. Bush personally tore up their ballot.
1 Million?
How do they get away with lying like this?
And yet the blacks in the panhandle aren't upset that the state was called before the polls closed.
It states it as fact.... I'd love to see how they figure that 1 million ballots were not counted!
If they have to educate so many of these folks on how to vote, then should I assume the 1 million that were not allowed to vote would have been another hanging chad. People that don't know how to vote probably don't even know the issues much less understand them. OH and by the way most still won't show up.
How embarassing to be a black voter in Florida. They are treated like the worlds dumbest voters.
All the supposed problems with Black voters, in 2000, seems to have occured in Democratic counties. How come President Bush is responsible for this? Just another thing that the demonrats beat to death.
That was before 9/11. I expect the margin to be about 7-3 this time.
It's amazing how some misvoted ballots somehow turned into disenfranchisement then into a million blacks robbed of their rights.
This is just balantly racist on the face. The writer assumes that the Blacks in Florida were too stupid to fill out a ballot, knew they were stupid and knew they screwed up.Truth is, those voters, white or black that properly filled out the ballots got counted and Blacks know how to fill out a ballot as well as anyone else in their community.
John
You picks a number out of the air, and multiplies it by 19.
See?
And if the product ain't big enough, you multipies it by 19 again.
See?
And you repeats this process 'till the product is one million!
See?
There is just plain dumb and their is brainwashed.
And I think there is both.
Sorry, "there".
Hot that button too soon!
Actually there was ONE ballot that wasn't counted in the original count.
In the 999,999 recounts since then, it STILL hasn't been counted.
Great post! To the point and correct! bravo
I noticed no one ever mentions that by the networks calling FL for Gore before the polls closed in the panhandle, which was on CST, it cost Bush approximately 10,000 votes by Bob Dole's estimate.
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