Me partisan, absolutely! Just as you are as well as everyone who is posting this thread.
I agree with you that just about anything is possible as to the outcome of this election, however I have no intention of letting a judge cast my ballot for me as I am sure you feel the same way. In the end it will be the ballots that determine this. So far Bush rules in spite of the Gore corruption.
Report Says Felons Voted as Gore Adds Votes in Broward County
Saturday, November 18, 2000
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Al Gore picked up more votes in Democratic-leaning Broward County on Saturday, while Republicans expressed concern about a published report that at least 39 felons cast absentee ballots in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
With 219 of Broward County's 609 precincts hand counted by late afternoon, Gore had gained 57 votes over official tallies sent to the secretary of state on Tuesday. It remained uncertain if any of the manually recounted votes would be added to official totals.
Secretary of State Katherine Harris has said she won't accept any manual recount totals, but the Florida Supreme Court ruled Friday that she cannot certify election results until it holds a hearing Monday.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Bush campaign said Republicans are concerned by a Miami Herald story saying felons, who are barred from voting by Florida law, cast absentee ballots in the two counties. The majority of them — 32 — were Democrats, according to the newspaper.
"Anytime someone votes illegally, it's troubling, particularly when we are talking about convicted felons," Ray Sullivan said.
To find the felony voters, the Herald compared a list of all absentee voters in both counties to a Department of Corrections database, then verified each conviction in court records and a Florida Department of Law Enforcement database. The convictions ranged from murder and rape to drunken driving and passing bad checks.
Jane Carroll, the Broward County supervisor of elections and a member of the canvassing board, said her office periodically is sent lists of convicted felons and use those to expunge names of corresponding registered voters. She did not dispute the Herald report but said, "I can't do anything about the ones who have already voted."
The Bush campaign planned to ask the canvassing board to conduct an investigation to identify and disqualify votes cast by felons, Sullivan said. Bush advisers also were consulting with lawyers to determine whether they would ask board members to suspend the hand count while the investigation is conducted.
"The Republicans are clearly desperate at this point. This is yet another attempt to delay the process," said state Sen. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat from Weston in Broward County.
The canvassing board did interrupt its hand count Saturday to consider a motion by Democratic member Suzanne Gunzburger to change its standard for determining whether a ballot is valid.
A day earlier, Circuit Court Judge John Miller told the board to reconsider its decision to only count ballots that have two or more corners of the chad completely detached. A chad is the bit of paper from the hole in a punch-card ballot.
Gunzburger wanted the board to adopt a broader standard used by Texas, which includes ballots with one chad corner detached or with chads that are "pregnant," or pushed out.
Carroll, a Republican, opposed the motion.
"I think that if we change the standard in the middle of all this, it's going to be a lot more confusing at the end," she said.
The third member of the board, County Judge Robert W. Lee, delayed making a decision but eventually sided with Carroll.
"I don't think (changing the standard) will cause internal confusion but it will cause a lot of external confusion because of all the hype surrounding this," Lee said. "Whatever we say will be misconstrued 12 different ways two minutes after we say it."
Lee bristled at criticism by Montana Gov. Marc Racicot, who on behalf of the Bush campaign charged there's "no reasonable assurance" the canvassing board can ensure the integrity and security of the ballots.
"The canvassing board ignored a request by Republicans to stop the counting until they could do so. Election officials, specifically Judge Lee, have simply expressed that the chad should be brushed on the floor," Racicot said.
"I don't know where he got that," Lee responded, "but I defy anyone who is part of this to say I did that. I would not do anything that stupid."
"The canvassing board ignored a request by Republicans to stop the counting until they could do so. Election officials, specifically Judge Lee, have simply expressed that the chad should be brushed on the floor," Racicot said.
"I don't know where he got that," Lee responded, "but I defy anyone who is part of this to say I did that. I would not do anything that stupid."
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