November 9, 2000
With Florida Recount Incomplete,
Democrats to Seek Count by Hand
Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- With Florida's recount still incomplete, Gore
campaign manager William Daley said he believed that Mr. Gore had won
the election in Florida and that Democrats are asking for a hand recount of
ballots in Palm Beach County and three other counties.
Speaking at an early evening news
conference, Secretary of State Katherine
Harris said only 53 of Florida's 67 counties
had sent in their recounted results, with a
margin in Mr. Bush's favor of 1.784 votes
-- the same as at the end of the first count.
But an unofficial tally by the Associated
Press put Mr. Bush's lead over the vice
president at just 362 votes, about one-fifth
of the original margin, in the ongoing
recount out of nearly six million votes cast.
That tally was based on information from
64 of the state's 67 counties late Thursday
afternoon.
Florida officials defended the delays in
reporting the state's results. "If you want
simplicity, just go about 70 miles south to
Cuba where it's real simple -- they have no
elections," said Florida election official Bob
Crawford.
The state had requested that each county report its recounted results by the
end of the day. But Ms. Harris said that under state law they have until
Tuesday to send in their results.
Election officials also said results wouldn't be certified until Nov. 17 or later,
after at least 2,900 overseas ballots could be counted. Those ballots had to
be postmarked by Election Day.
In response to the Gore campaign's request for a manual recount, Palm
Beach County agreed to hand-count ballots in three precincts Saturday.
In addition, the board in Broward County was to meet Friday morning to
discuss the request for a manual recount there.
Mr. Daley said Thursday that the voter confusion over ballots in Palm Beach
County caused about 2,000 people to vote for Reform Party candidate Pat
Buchanan rather than Mr. Gore.
"That would be more than enough to make Al Gore the winner in Florida,"
Mr. Daley said. "There's no question that there was massive confusion in
Palm Beach County."
Mr. Daley and others said it was possible
Democrats would seek a new election in that
county, where, he said, "the confusion was
massive" because of the design of the ballot.
Democratic Party officials said they would
support unspecified "legal actions."
Stocks fell sharply following the Democrats'
statements, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average off more than 200 points
at worst before recovering substantially. The industrials ended the day down
72.81, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 31.35. (See full market
coverage.)
Two lawsuits were filed in state court in Palm Beach County seeking a new
presidential vote there based on allegations that the ballot was too confusing.
Thousands of ballots were not counted because they were punched twice.
A separate federal suit over the Buchanan confusion was abruptly
withdrawn Thursday. The suit, which sought a new election, is expected to
be refiled in state court.
Both candidates were working simultaneously to prepare their transitions to
power and fight the ballot dispute. Gore adviser Peter Knight was trying to
raise $3 million to finance the campaign's challenge.
Mr. Gore carried Palm Beach County by more than 110,000 votes, but the
3,407 votes for Mr. Buchanan were by far the most of any Florida county,
and almost 20% of his total vote in the state.
Mr. Daley said the Democrats would seek a hand recount of the ballots cast
in Palm Beach, Dade, Broward and Volusia counties -- some 1.78 million
votes. Dade County includes Miami; Broward is home to Fort Lauderdale;
Daytona Beach is in Volusia.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Janet Reno said in Washington there was no
reason for federal authorities to "jump in" but pledged to review any
complaint brought to her.
Mr. Daley jabbed at the Bush campaign, saying they "blithely dismiss the
disenfranchisement of thousands of Floridians as being the usual mistakes"
that afflict elections. "If the will of the people is to prevail, Al Gore should be
awarded a victory in Florida and be our next president," he asserted.
Earlier former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, tapped by Mr. Bush
to represent him in Florida, said he had seen neither allegations of fraud nor
evidence of it. He said the controversial Palm Beach County ballots had
been reviewed before the election by both campaigns, "and guess what,
there were no complaints until after the election."
Even with the tightening gap, Mr. Daley said courts may find irregularities in
the Florida results "an injustice unparalleled in our history."
Mr. Buchanan gave
credence to
allegations of voter
confusion.
"When I took one look
at that ballot on
election night ... it's
very easy for me to
see how someone
could have voted for
me in the belief they
voted for Al Gore,"
Mr. Buchanan said on
NBC's "Today" show.
He suggested that Mr. Gore actually might have won Florida on the basis of
the challenged votes.
"My guess is, I probably got some votes down there that really did not belong
to me and I do not feel well about that," he told the "Today" show. "I don't
want to take any votes that do not belong to me."
Democratic State Sen. Ron Klein, and official observers in the Palm Beach
County recount, said county officials disqualified 19,120 presidential votes
here on Tuesday because voters selected more than one candidate. That is
about 4.14% of total votes cast in the county for president, an unusually high
figure, said Mr. Klein. Carol Roberts, a county commissioner and a member
of the Palm Beach County canvassing board said that ballots were rejected
in the Florida Senate contest at a far lower rate -- 0.82%.
Protesters demonstrated in Palm Beach County to demand reballoting.
The recount was triggered by state law because Mr. Bush led Mr. Gore by
less than one half of 1% after the initial count was completed early
Wednesday. State officials expected to finish the recount by the end of the
day Thursday. The first Florida count, including all absentee ballots that had
been received, showed Mr. Bush with 2,909,135 votes and Mr. Gore with
2,907,351 -- a difference of 1,784 votes in a state with 8.75 million registered
voters.
Mr. Gore is leading Mr. Bush by 260 to 246 electoral votes based on
completed counts and network projections, and Florida's 25 electoral votes
will decide the winner of the presidential cliffhanger.
"If there are concerns, let the process work," said Gov. Jeb Bush, the
younger brother of the Republican nominee. "But don't overexaggerate
things."
In Palm Beach and Osceola counties, Democratic Party lawyers and voters
said ballots were confusing because of their configuration. Officials in Palm
Beach announced 19,120 ballots in the presidential race were tossed out
before they were counted because more than one candidate was picked.
Gov. Jeb Bush said he has seen no indications of fraud. But Mr. Mfume
called for federal marshals to oversee the ballot recount and asked the U.S.
Justice Department to investigate. |
