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Politics : Why is Gore Trying to Steal the Presidency? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (8)	11/11/2000 4:24:26 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3887

Recount Proceeds in Defiance of State Secretary's Ballot Ruling Politics/Elections News Source: NewsMax.com Published: Saturday November 11, 2000; 3:15 PM ET Author: With Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff Posted on 11/11/2000 12:26:00 PST by JeanS A hand recount of Palm Beach County's ballots was scheduled to proceed Saturday afternoon despite a determination by Florida's Secretary of State overuling Democrats who complained that the ballot's design was "illegal." Questions about the county's "butterfly ballot" format had been the driving force behind calls for a recount from Florida Democrats all week, with the Gore campaign and its allies repeatedly claiming that the ballot did not comply with the law. But Secretary of State Katherine Harris, a Republican elected in 1998, blew that argument out of the water late Friday, in a statement announcing that Palm Baech County's butterfly ballot "conforms in all respects to the requirements of the Florida law." "The Department of State has now reviewed the Palm Beach County ballot," her office announced. "Clay Roberts, director of the Division of Elections, and Deborah Kearney, general counsel for the Department of State, have determined that the design and layout of the ballot does conform to the law of the state of Florida." Harris' ruling severely erodes the impact of Democrat claims that some 30,000 Palm Beach voters were "disenfranchised" when voting machines rejected their ballots. A handful of Palm Beach residents have complained the ballot left them so confused they inadvertently ruined their ballots or voted for the wrong candidate. Underscoring the importance of the Secretary of State's determination, Gore campaign manager Bill Daley rushed to the microphones to respond. "Legal experts have told us that they see it as an illegal ballot," he countered, without saying whether the Gore campaign planned to challenge Harris' decision in court. As a Florida state official, Harris has legal jurisdiction over the matter while Daley and his Democratic Party lawyers have none. Despite the blockbuster ruling, most Americans remain unaware that the central complaint driving the historic post election crisis has been judged meritless by Florida authorities. Harris' ruling was barely noted in Saturday press accounts. Indeed, the establishment press continued to cover the ballot story as if Harris' decision had no legal impact whatsoever. Saturday's New York Times offered a reproduction of the document complete with sidebars explaining why so many voters were confused. The Times captioned the diagram: "Defective Equipment: The Palm Beach County Ballot." With a green light from the media if not from Harris, Palm Beach Democratic officials pressed ahead with plans for a hand recount. The initial decision for a manual recount was made by the county's "three member (canvassing) board, consisting only of Democrats, which granted requests Thursday as protesters and lawsuits against Palm Beach County's 'butterfly ballot' piled up," reported Saturday's Palm Beach Post. "The suits claim the ballot book was illegal..." Saturday morning the Bush campaign announced it was filing suit to stop the manual recount and will undoubtedly cite Harris' ruling that Palm Beach County's butterfly ballot is entirely legal.