MUST READ ARTICLE...A blow-by-blow of the Palm Beach recount
News-Journal wire services
news-journalonline.com
Excerpts from pool reports filed by 18 reporters, who observed the Palm Beach County manual vote recount on Saturday. Each reporter was in the room for about a half hour, but not all filed reports.
1:43-2:15 p.m.
The laborious counting process begins with wrangling between County Judge Charles Burton, who is the canvassing board chairman, and the official observers from the political parties over whether they should be allowed to touch the ballot cards.
"There's no one at any time who is going to touch the ballots. There's going to be law enforcement in here and they are going to be instructed as to that," Burton declares. "We've got the hand slappers here."
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2:20-2:55 p.m.
Burton is upset that some observers are raising their hands to ask questions, which he warns will slow the already tedious process. A cell phone rings. Board member Carol Roberts demands, "Who has a phone? OUT!"
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2:55-3:25 p.m.
During a break in the counting, a Republican observer looks at the crush of media and onlookers, faces pressed to the window, and remarks to the sheriff's deputy, "Ever felt like a fish?"
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3:25-4:05 p.m.
Mark Wallace, the lead GOP observer, is sitting so close to Burton that at one point his knee hits the back of Burton's metallic folding chair. That prompts Roberts to reprimand Wallace: "Please just sit quietly."
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4:05-4:25 p.m.
Wallace cautioned the board to be careful when handling the cards, because bending them could change the outcome.
Burton sighed heavily after that.
One card was a No. 3 punch (Bush). Burton: "Yes on a No. 3 right here."
"Woohoo," yelped Wallace. ...
At this point, they realize the standard at the beginning was stricter, and now less light is being counted as a vote. They decide to recount some of those they have already looked at with the new standard.
Wallace: "This is completely not fair. It's another recount."
Burton: "It's a changing standard, I suppose."
Wallace: "Light is light."
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4:25-4:55 p.m.
The election workers, all women, have plastic containers of "Tacky Finger" on the tables to help them handle the ballots.
Burton yawned several times. At 4:25 p.m., he yawned and an elections staffer joked, "We all feel the same way." A few minutes later, Judge Burton yawned again, saying "I'm losing it, I tell you." ...
At 4:32 p.m., the board determined that the Constitutional Party got a vote. ...
Wallace asked Theresa LePore (county election supervisor), "Theresa, is this the way you've done it in the past?" and she replied in understatement: "Pretty much, but it's not been scrutinized as much."
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5:25-6 p.m.
It appears that, using more strictly the guidelines from 1990, they now decide that a chad fully attached will not be considered as a vote.
The three members of the canvassing board agree to go on like this, and then go back to the first ones, which were decided using the "sunshine" criteria. ...
Ben Kuehne, the lawyer for the Democratic Party, intervenes: "I believe that the canvassing board has been entirely consistent with the sunshine rule. The proper standard in determining the will of the voter should be not only the light. Soft punches that did not perforate should be counted as a vote."
Wallace objects: "The sunshine rule doesn't apply to micron of light!"
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6:30-7 p.m.
More chad debates. The canvassing board changed (or as the chairman says, clarified) its position midway through the manual recount. Now, the ballot counts if ONE corner is broken. If it is bulging, but a corner is not broken, it doesn't count. During the first few hours, if light could be seen through the attempted punch, it counted as a vote. ...
Soon after the ballot examination began, Kuehne said again: "For clarification, members of the board the corner rule applies?"
Wallace: "The rule was stated in the memo."
Kuehne tersely replied: "I was speaking to the board, thank you."
Burton then said: "We need to do this right now. If you want to object, object. We don't need 20-minute explanations."
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7:45-8:15 p.m.
The room smells of tobacco smoke. After a break, the mood quickly turns from strained joviality to testiness. A frustrated Burton tells the lead observers from the two parties, "If you want to make an objection, it requires one word: objection. ... I don't want to hear your arguments."
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8:15-8:40 p.m.
Wallace sat with his legs straddling Burton's chair and pressed his face tightly between Burton and Roberts.
"I'm just trying to be fair," Wallance said. He was objecting to a ballot not called for Bush that showed a faint glimmer but no indentation.
The judge shot back: "We're all trying to be fair."
Immediately thereafter, Wallace did not object to two ballots with similar "dimples" in the Bush column. ...
Several ballots followed that appeared to have very slight indentations for number three, George Bush. Wallace agonized over each one, but did not voice any objections. ...
A few ballots later, Wallace sighed. "All these Republicans with weak fingers. I'm feeling personally conflicted."
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8:40-9:10 p.m.
The canvassing board is more subdued, but getting punchier. They were clearly vexed by knowing a vote had been made, but because it was a "pregnant" chad - one bulging, but not punched through - it was discounted.
There's a growing amount of chatter from observers not sitting at the table. They are talking about football and whether Florida State won. The pregnant chad question comes up again. LePore smiles at Burton and says. "I would say no, Carol would say yes." ...
Roberts shakes her head, "How much is a new system?" LePore: "A lot of millions. And if you go to a new system it has its own inherent set of problems."
One ballot has two pregnant chads. "Better than being a little bit pregnant," Burton jokes.
Roberts regarding Wallace's sudden low-key demeanor. "His whole personality changed. I think we need to feed him."
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9:10-9:40 p.m.
The session was slow to start, which did not seem to bother anyone. Burton squinted at the media throng through the windows. A camera banged into the window, and the judge said, to no one in particular: "It's like birds banging against the window. Either that or people are starting to throw stuff at us." No one laughed. ...
"Time to do the questionables," Roberts said. She then whispered to the judge: "We get tomorrow off, regardless." ...
A cell phone rings, and Roberts barks: "Everyone who has a phone get out of here."
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10:15-10:45 p.m.
After a break, Burton is reading the reports written for their colleagues by newspaper and wire service journalists who have been rotating in and out of the counting room every half hour. He asks how long the press will be sitting in; he's informed that the Fourth Estate doesn't rest until the government does. "Lucky us," says LePore.
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10:45-11:15 p.m.
At one point after a string of no's, Wallace said to LePore and Roberts: "You must be getting tired." Kuehne said: "Would you instruct the peanut gallery to knock off the wise cracks because he doesn't do it well anyway." Roberts, LePore and Burton all tried to soothe the frayed nerves. "C'mon guys," said Burton.
The pile of questionable votes dwindled to the relief of the group. At 11:05 p.m., Roberts announced, "Shall we break out the champagne, we've got one left." ...
They rejected the final card, one of the dimpled ones. They thought they were done but Burton said, "Oh, wait, hold on guys. We've got to discuss these again." They discussed three remaining cards and decided not to allow them, finishing the count at 11:14 p.m. |
