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U.S. to sue Florida over 2000 voting
MSNBC ^ | 5/21/02

Posted on 05/21/2002 2:52:19 PM PDT by Mean Spirited

The government will file three lawsuits against Florida counties alleging voting rights violations resulting from the bitterly disputed 2000 presidential election, a Justice Department official said Tuesday.

TWO OTHER LAWSUITS also will be filed, in Missouri and Tennessee, by the department’s civil rights division, Assistant Attorney General Ralph Boyd told the Senate Judiciary Committee. The lawsuits will allege disparate treatment of minority voters, improper purging of voter rolls, “motor voter” registration violations and failure to provide access to disabled voters, Boyd said. Other charges, he said, include failing to allow voters with limited proficiency in English to have assistance at the polls and failing to provide bilingual assistance.


TOPICS: Breaking News; News/Current Events; US: Florida
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To: Mean Spirited
Just a few thoughts from a Florida voter.

Did the Justice Department have a choice? If this were started under the Clinton Justice Department, wouldn't any inaction by the Bush Justice Department be labeled as "covering up the truth?"

Much of this has to do with giving access to the polls of non-English speaking individuals. How much do people in "fly over country" really support recent immigrants voting?

In taking a sad song and making it better mode, this will give the Bush Justice Department a chance to highlight that these irregularities in Miami-Dade county happened under Democratic leadership, voter turnout in some black precincts in Missouri approached (and some say exceeded) 100%, a virtual impossibility unless their was fraud involved, and the subsequent efforts of the Bush Administrations in Washington and Florida to enact new voting laws to prevent fraud.

This is also happening over five months before the election. Imagine if the Dems in the press had been able to run "Bush Justice Department Refuses to Investage 2000 Election Irregularities" in mid-October.

This current situation may just be close enough to the election to be remembered, but far enough away so as to not be galvanizing.

Let's be honest. Most black voters hate the Republicans. I don't think we will see a majority of Blacks voting for a Republican candidate for national office in our lifetime. The best we can hope for is that they have no reason to turn out in droves, like they would if they thought someone was trying to keep them from voting. Like most voters, if everything in their world is okay, they will not have high turnout at the polls. This lawsuit, at this time, is damage control and appeasement.

I would bet big money that the investigation extends past the November elections and in about January 2003 is concluded with a statement that current efforts by the parties involved to prevent fraud have been sufficient.

141 posted on 05/22/2002 3:16:19 AM PDT by Crusher138
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To: ALL
I'm looking at this and I'm not really bothered. You know why? The DOJ is suing Florida counties instead of the entire state. I would bet you anything that those counties being sued are strongly Democrat, with Democrat poll workers and Democrat Supervisors of Elections.

What's even funnier is that I'll bet that most of the defendants are not only going to be Democrats ... they're going to be black Democrats. I simply won't be surprised if this was just one amazingly sharp chess move by the Bush Administration to demoralize the Left base.

142 posted on 05/22/2002 5:39:04 AM PDT by MAKnight
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To: america-rules
The spanish speaking cubans weren't helped in Miami and even got strong armed in to voting for Gore.

I live in Miami-Dade County, where 72% of my precinct went for Bush and COUNTY WIDE 85% of the Cuban vote went for Bush. NOBODY in the Cuban community would let themselves be "strong armed" into voting for Gore, particularly the older people, who would be the ones with language problems.

143 posted on 05/22/2002 5:42:56 AM PDT by Clemenza
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To: A. Morgan
The laws ARE strict--I don't understand how all this is happening. I am working now with a Chinese woman who speaks good English but is not yet ready to take her TOEFEL tests, which she must pass in order even to apply for a green card. We can't even get her volunteer work in the field in which she is a professional!
144 posted on 05/22/2002 6:14:44 AM PDT by twigs
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To: zip
O.K. I was patient and read thru all of the posts. Now let me say this.

90% of you guys sound like idiots. There are nine jillion accusations out there, stemming from the 2000 election, but Like a Vetoed CFR bill, just brushing them aside does not make them go away. What Does?

having a Court say there is no merit to the charges. I am sure you all followed the election news as closely as I did, and what did it tell you? After removing the media slant, the allegations are baseless. Story after Story after Story, over time revealed no truth to the allegations.

I'll also go out on a limb here and say that the limited english thing, will turn around and bite some dems on the ass. (Cubans living in Dem Controlled precincts....)

But that having een said, Having DOJ sue the aforementioned states, removes the ability to criticize the Administration, from the lefts list of things to whine about, Plus it opens the door, for increased Scrutiny at the Polls by a REPUBLICAN CONTROLLED JUSTICE DEPARTMENT. Which is how these cases usually turn out...(Jeb = Gov. Geo. = Pres... What do you really think is going on here...sheesh..)

You guy really ought to learn to think things thru, from a strategery standpoint.

145 posted on 05/22/2002 6:29:47 AM PDT by hobbes1
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To: cake_crumb
Don't forget purging the voting rolls. Disenfranchised dead voters made Berry pretty mad.
146 posted on 05/22/2002 6:31:21 AM PDT by dalebert
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To: cake_crumb; Miss Marple
You know, I think I smell a common thread that we seem to be overlooking when it comes to the hatred expressed on FR toward the president and the AG. They are both men of faith. Of course, the bashers will deny the root of their hatred, but since they listen to the messages of their spiritual father, their christophobia would be natural. It is, after all, actually a spiritual battle - not one of flesh and blood.
147 posted on 05/22/2002 6:32:02 AM PDT by anniegetyourgun
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To: hchutch
I dont agree; an Justice Dept investigation run by Ashcrofts DOJ is bound to focus on the sleazy,shady,and ILLEGAL voting practices that the dems participated in 2000. Its the same thing as investigating what Bush new prior to 9/11;any inquiry is going to keep coming back to Xlinton and the dems.
148 posted on 05/22/2002 6:33:04 AM PDT by cardinal4
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To: anniegetyourgun
That's true, but I think we also have lots of intellectually challenged, kneejerk tyoes running loose in the asylum. See my comments two or three posts up. It should be pretty clear how this is going to play out....
149 posted on 05/22/2002 6:33:40 AM PDT by hobbes1
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To: hobbes1
Yes, stupidity is also a factor!
150 posted on 05/22/2002 6:40:33 AM PDT by anniegetyourgun
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To: Mean Spirited
Whatever happened to all those people on this site who assured us this stupid commission had no real power?!!!!
151 posted on 05/22/2002 7:00:22 AM PDT by Amore
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To: Mean Spirited
Oh, crud, maybe I'm posting to the wrong thread. I thought this thread was the one about that idiot Mary Berry (Civil Rights Commission, I think) being the one who was in the vanguard of the lawsuit. Whoever's doing it, it's assinine! Most people don't know this, but Florida is actually better than average in its voting procedures, or, at least, it used to be before they got into this motor voter junk.
152 posted on 05/22/2002 7:03:15 AM PDT by Amore
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To: Mean Spirited
The government will file three lawsuits against Florida counties alleging voting rights violations...

In the sentence above, what, exactly, does the term "the government" mean?

Think about it, people! President George W. Bush IS the government. He's the head of the executive branch of it -- the branch that would bring a lawsuit. The Department of Justice lawyers, presumably, supposedly, report to him, by way of the chain of command through the Attorney General, correct? In other words, they can't bring a suit without it being all right by him, or they are independent of him and can act, in violation of the Constitution, against his policy directives. So, which is it? Is this lawsuit Bush policy, or is Bush a figurehead without any actual authority?

Who, pray tell, is "the government"?

153 posted on 05/22/2002 7:40:56 AM PDT by Jay W
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To: hobbes1
#145 - applause, applause. I heard this on the news last night, but was too tired to check FR for reactions.

When I read an article in the WSJ a little while ago, I LOL when I read Missouri was included in the lawsuit! Ashcroft is going to get the last laugh over the widow carnahan, I do believe.

I did a search to see if the WSJ piece had been posted, which it was not; but doesn't need to - this thread, and the few reasoned replies from you, Miss Marple, and a few others suffice.

Back to work, mombonn!

154 posted on 05/22/2002 8:15:29 AM PDT by mombonn
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To: Jay W
This lawsuit will be the means by which The Presidents Justice Dept. Oversees elections in Problem Counties, in his Brothers state....nudge nudge... wink wink...get it?
155 posted on 05/22/2002 8:21:30 AM PDT by hobbes1
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To: hobbes1
Oh, here's a paragraph from the WSJ piece that I didn't read before I ran over to FR to see what others were saying about the lawsuit:

"Politically, pursuit of the Missouri voting complaints provides a sort of GOP balance to the better-known Florida controversy. Many Republican activists take it as a matter of faith that voting fraud occurred in mostly black Missouri precincts, to the benefit of Democrats, including Sen. Jean Carnahan, who bested Mr. Ashcroft."

156 posted on 05/22/2002 8:23:30 AM PDT by mombonn
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To: america-rules
It will expose all the crap the DNC pulled during 2000 while at the same time showing the Bush admin is for civil rights etc. taking the issue away from the dems.

It's a win - win !

I am in total agreement with you. It will take these idiotic allegations from the realm of urban legend into a cold courtroom where those who make these (baseless) accusations will actually have to PROVE them. They can't. They will have had their fair day in court and been proven about as credible as OJ searching for the real killers.

It's win-win. Exactly.

157 posted on 05/22/2002 8:28:14 AM PDT by berned
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To: mombonn
Yup. It takes a while, but the good sense people eventually get here! (see above.)lol
158 posted on 05/22/2002 8:30:04 AM PDT by hobbes1
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To: Miss Marple
Of all the thousands of posters here only a few hundred are worth reading. Far too many are hysterical, foolish, thoughtless and ignorant. You are a breath of sanity amidst the miasma.

This will be a good move for Bush because it will be a real investigation. Any semi-competent investigation will reveal massive corruption -all DemocRATic.

But will the professional Bushwhackers stop whacking? No, they will latch on to some other misunderstanding and mindlessly launch their whines and shivels.

159 posted on 05/22/2002 8:45:11 AM PDT by justshutupandtakeit
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To: Mean Spirited
At least Fl. didn't have dead people voting. I can't imagine that Ashcroft approved the filing.
160 posted on 05/22/2002 8:50:39 AM PDT by sandydipper
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