MeDroogies, that is correct. The booths had not closed in the panhandle which tends to be conservative. The networks jumped the gun on Gore taking Florida before the booths in the state were closed, and despite Bush being 200,000 votes ahead at the time of the announcement. The panhandle is Central time zone, so the polls close an hour later. The allegation is that the premature announcement spoiled the turnout not only in the panhandle, but elsewhere in the country, especially in CA, where many folks stopped canvassing votes from their supporters and went home. You cannot peel back the onion beyond this recount, otherwise, there is no clear line of where you should stop. It can go on forever.
As to voting irregularities, FL without many of the large cities elsewhere, has far fewer since its voting system is fairly robust. Check out LA, Chicago and New York for Mickey Mouse action. |
