Florida vote goes from chad to worse
Posted on 09/12/2002 3:31:32 AM PDT by MeekOneGOP
Florida vote goes from chad to worse
Glitches bedevil new system; Reno trails in Democratic primary
09/12/2002
MIAMI - Despite a $32 million renovation, Florida's new election system crashed in an embarrassment that, like the 2000 election, left residents wondering whether their votes counted, candidates pondering recounts and everyone asking who's to blame.
"You guys have NO idea what a mess this has been," state election monitor Mike Lindsey wrote his Tallahassee bosses in a pre-dawn e-mail Wednesday from Broward County. "The mess was the result of no planning, poor leadership, lack of 'process ownership' and passing the buck."
The debacle, echoing the 2000 presidential stalemate, drew even more scrutiny because, once again, Florida had a high-profile race that was too close to call.
With 3 percent of precincts still to report by Wednesday afternoon, former Attorney General Janet Reno trailed Tampa lawyer Bill McBride for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination by 19,000 votes out of more than 1 million cast.
The voting problems included technical and human error. Workers had problems starting up new touch-screen voting machines; ballot cards tore and couldn't be read on optical scanning machines; and technical problems delayed processing the electronic cartridges used in the touch-screen voting machines. In Miami-Dade, nearly half of the ballots that were still uncounted Wednesday were cast by black voters.
In addition, some poll workers failed to show up, several polling places opened late and some voters were wrongly turned away for not showing a picture identification.
In response to complaints Tuesday, Gov. Jeb Bush extended polling by two hours but that led to yet more abuses: In Hollywood, workers at one precinct who had not been told of the extension held the door shut and cursed at voters.
In all, 14 of the state's 67 counties reported voting problems, including six of the seven that were sued after the 2000 presidential stalemate.
On Wednesday, the blame game was fast and furious.
Voters and Mr. Bush pointed fingers at election chiefs in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, which bought touch-screen machines to replace punch-card equipment. All counties were required to get rid of punch-card ballots.
Others worried that Florida's troubles were a warning of more to come. Several states scrapped punch-card ballots, bought new equipment and changed their laws since the presidential race.
"It's not just Florida. It's a national problem," said Rob Richie, executive director of the Center for Voting and Democracy, based in Maryland. "We will have lots of problems in the next two months."
Ms. Reno met with legal advisers and contemplated legal action Wednesday.
She could demand a recount or sue to overturn the results. Secretary of State Jim Smith said the race may be tight enough to automatically trigger a statewide recount.
By Wednesday evening, with 99 percent of precincts reporting, Mr. McBride had 599,057 votes, or 45 percent, compared with Ms. Reno's 588,034 votes, or 44 percent. State Sen. Daryl Jones had 155,648 votes, or 12 percent.
Among other races across the nation:
Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony A. Williams had a commanding lead at the end of the first day of counting write-in ballots in the city's Democratic mayoral primary. By Wednesday evening, Mr. Williams had 17,299 votes in his re-election bid, compared with 1,958 for the Rev. Willie F. Wilson. Poll workers were to return Thursday to continue counting.
Two-term New York Gov. George Pataki faced no Republican opponent but lost the Independence Party nomination to billionaire businessman B. Thomas Golisano. That means Mr. Golinsano's name will be on the November ballot, along with that of state Comptroller H. Carl McCall, who won the Democratic nomination a week after former U.S. Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo dropped out.
In Maryland, Democratic Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Republican Rep. Robert Ehrlich won their parties' gubernatorial nominations. State Sen. Christopher Van Hollen defeated Kennedy cousin Mark Shriver for the Democratic nomination to challenge eight-term GOP Rep. Constance Morella.
http://www.FreeRepublic.com/forum/a3a12dc02503b.htm
”There is explicit statistical evidence of massive ballot tampering in Palm Beach FL. These ballots show Democratic voter fraud....NOT Republican fraud or "voter error" as publicized by the national media. Statistical evidence cannot prove any single ballot was tampered with, nor show which individual tampered with any single ballot. It can show specific places and times and methods where the fraud was done.”
This means that Palm Beach FL had an error rate in favor of Gore more than 120 TIMES greater than any other county, (Two other heavily Democratic "inner city" counties (Flagler and Pinellas) had changes greater than 400 votes. Whether or not fraud existed in those counties is possible, but not analyzed here.) In a statistically valid recount, half of the errors would favor Bush, and half favor Gore. This extreme change from the normal in only three counties shows massive "tampering" towards Gore in those three counties between the original machine count (already tainted by fraud.) and the second machine recount........
U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, said nothing Oliphant is accused of rises to the level of misdeeds he thinks were committed by former Secretary of State Katherine Harris in the 2000 election. He said Bush would face the wrath of black voters in the November election if he removes Oliphant.
“I dare the governor to remove her,” Hastings said. “He’ll create a firestorm that will eclipse the one he created in the One Florida plan. He’ll need Katherine Harris to count the votes for him again.”
Racism at it's worst.
I wouldn't be surprised if it's determined that's the case.....
And the 'usual suspects' will be doing the same tricks to try to help McLawyer beat Bush! We must work extra hard to get out the GOP vote to offset the RATs' fraud!
"McLawyer, the White House can be yours someday". POINT NO. 2: WE CANNOT AFFORD THE TAXATION THAT WE WOULD BE HIT WITH.
Is summer's pc in the shop again?
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