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To: Rarebird who wrote (60806)	11/10/2000 2:32:47 PM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 116759

<<When you have an Presidential election that was this close and over 19K >> There are very many near that number thrown out in NM.

To: Rarebird who wrote (60806)	11/10/2000 2:39:02 PM
From: long-gone	Respond to of 116759

Forged Ballot Sparks Criminal Investigation in Florida NewsMax.com Thursday, Nov. 9, 2000 The discovery of forged ballots in northern Florida has set off a probe of what may have been widespread fraud in connection with absentee ballots in the state. Moreover, the suggestion has been made that the U.S. Postal Service in Miami may have been involved. According to a blockbuster story in today’s Pensacola News Journal, the Escambia County state attorney’s office is heading an investigation into whether the forgery is part of a larger scheme to redirect mailed ballots to someone other than the person for whom it was intended who then filled out the ballot and forged the real voter’s signature. "I agree there may well be more than just this one,'' Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar, who is heading the investigation, told the News Journal. "That's what I'm thinking right now.'' The investigation was set off by a complaint from Bush supporter Todd Vinson, a 28-year-old law clerk in Miami who is registered to vote in Pensacola. According to Vinson and others familiar with the case, Vinson requested the Escambia County supervisor of elections to mail an absentee ballot to his Miami apartment Oct. 10. When it failed to arrive, he asked for a second ballot on Oct. 24. That also disappeared. Frustrated, Vinson complained to his father, U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson, last Thursday. Judge Vinson then called Jones, whose office reviewed all the absentee ballots and discovered a ballot with Todd Vinson's name on it. When he compared the signature on the ballot to the signature on Vinson's voter registration card, the two did not match. He then faxed a copy of the signature to Todd Vinson. "It was clearly forged,'' Vinson told the News Journal. "Somebody definitely got hold of it and sent it back in. "The question is where did they get it, and my speculation was that it happened somewhere in the post office. It made it down here to Miami, but it never made it to me.'' Jones sent a third ballot to Vinson via next-day mail, and it arrived in time for Vinson to cast a ballot for Bush. Jones then notified the State Attorney's Office, U.S. Attorney Mike Patterson and the Florida Division of Elections. According to Edgar, the signed witness required for all absentee ballots listed a fictitious address. On Wednesday, Escambia County elections officials discovered what appears to be a second forged absentee ballot. It too has been handed over to state prosecutors. Because neither of the ballots has been opened, it’s not possible at this time to report for whom they were cast. State Attorney Curtis Golden told the newspaper that if the Postal Service was involved, his office might turn the investigation over to federal law enforcement officials. Patterson refused to say whether his office is participating in the investigation. He did indicate his office was interested in the matter. "In general, that kind of voter fraud or fraudulent activity surrounding a federal election is something we would be interested in,'' he said. newsmax.com

To: Rarebird who wrote (60806)	11/10/2000 2:42:21 PM
From: long-gone	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 116759

<<When you have an Presidential election that was this close and over 19K were not able to vote for the candidate of their choice because of the confusing(and possibly illegal) way in which the ballot was configured in Palm Beach County, >> November 10, 2000 Existing laws block ordering new vote By Frank J. Murray THE WASHINGTON TIMES Florida case-law bars state courts from ordering a new election on grounds a ballot was confusing, and federal election law could sidetrack any attempt to change that. The Constitution assumes a voter's "ability to read and his intelligence to indicate his choice with the degree of care commensurate with the solemnity of the occasion," says a 1974 ruling by a District Court of Appeals. That ruling in a similar case of ballot confusion stands today as the precedent in such cases. Even if state courts reinterpreted the law and ordered a new election, that result would seem to conflict with federal statutes. Federal law (3 USC Sect. 1) says electors "shall be appointed, in each state, on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November." On Dec. 2, 1997, in the Louisiana case of Foster vs. Love, the Supreme Court ruled that all federal elections must be held on that one national Election Day. "You would think there would be a fairly strong argument under Foster vs. Love that you can't hold part of the presidential election any other day. That would suggest that you can't have another election," said a Washington lawyer with a Supreme Court practice who asked not to be identified. (cont) washtimes.com