Tell you what AS, I'll go with this recount.
Judicial Watch Begins Its Own
Florida Recount
CNSNews.com
Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2000
The conservative watchdog group Judicial
Watch has the green light to begin its
own count of disputed ballots in this
month's presidential election in Palm
Beach.
Palm Beach Circuit Court Judge Jorge La
Barga gave Judicial Watch access to
count the votes. He cited a Florida
state law that allows citizens to
inspect ballots even after the
certification deadline has passed.
Florida Secretary of State Katherine
Harris certified the election Sunday
night, giving Florida's 25 electoral
votes to Republican George W. Bush.
Judicial Watch officials say more than
400 citizens from around the country
have volunteered to help the group count
"disputed" and "other ballots" such as
absentee military votes.
Johnson, Lambert and Co., a public
accounting firm, will oversee Judicial
Watch's effort because the group says
the accounting firm has "expertise both
in counting ballots and fraud."
Besides Palm Beach, Judicial Watch plans
to conduct an independent analysis of
disputed and other ballots throughout
Florida.
Judicial Watch is best known for the
legal challenges it has mounted against
the Clinton administration. It often
represented individuals who say they
have been harmed by Clinton or his White
House. But the group's chairman says the
Florida recount is not politically
motivated.
"It is important that an independent
group, nonpartisan in nature, provide
certified numbers for the American
people. The last few weeks have shown
that one can't trust partisans on the
ground to count the votes," Judicial
Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry
Klayman said in a statement.
Klayman is in Florida on behalf of the
effort and was not available for further
comment.
Judicial Watch also will use, where
feasible, statistical and accounting
techniques to test the accuracy of the
machine counts.
Despite the official certification by
the state of Florida in favor of Bush,
the group decided to go ahead with the
recount anyway.
"Even though there was official
certification of George W. Bush as the
winner of Florida's electoral votes, Al
Gore will contest this election. In this
unusual circumstance, it becomes all the
more necessary to have an independent,
nonpartisan count.
"Judicial Watch will make its recount
results available to the American
public, the courts and others who
require an independent measure of the
voting in Florida," Judicial Watch
President Tom Fitton said in a
statement.
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