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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: American Spirit who wrote (75811)	11/15/2000 1:57:20 PM
From: SecularBull	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 769667

Two S.C. delegates say they have been asked to change vote to Gore -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By LEE BANDY Staff Writer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two South Carolina Republican electors say they have been approached about changing their votes to Democrat Al Gore. Both said they would not go back on their pledge to support George W. Bush. "I'd cut my arm off first before voting for Al Gore," said Cecil Windham of Manning, a retired farmer. Air Force retiree Dan Richardson, of Greenwood, said there is "absolutely no way" he could vote for the vice president. Both assumed the unidentified callers were associated with the Gore campaign, which denied making such overtures. Eight South Carolinians are part of the Electoral College. On Dec. 18, they are, by law, required to give the state's votes to Bush. They will meet at the S.C. secretary of state's office to cast their ballots. They were chosen by the state GOP executive committee. One is a Bob Jones University graduate. There is an orthodontist, a professor and a real estate broker. Others are retired. Bush carried the state with 57 percent of the vote to Gore's 41 percent. Under state law, an elector could face possible criminal prosecution if he violates his signed pledge. Also, if word were to leak out that a member was going to change his vote, the state GOP could replace the elector. Richardson said he has received about a half-a-dozen calls. But he never asked the callers to identify themselves. He said he wasn't worried about the S.C. electors switching their votes. Windham said he had received about three calls, "all asking the same thing. Would I change my vote?" Again, the callers refused to identify themselves. Said Windham, "I don't see how anyone could violate the trust of the people." Many of the state's GOP electors expressed disgust with the tangled vote count mess in Florida. "This is what the Democratic Party is all about," said Horry County real estate broker Bill Prince. "This is a classic example of the kind of people they are. Nothing is ever settled with the modern-day Democrats. I can see a Democrat in hell for two years still sitting there with yellow legal pad, shaking his finger at St. Peter, saying 'These are my mitigating circumstances.' They're always negotiating." The Gore campaign denied it was making such calls or attempting to pressure Bush electors to change their votes. Danny Faulker, a professor of physics at the University of South Carolina-Lancaster, accused the Democrats of "trying everything they can to steal the election. ... It's ridiculous." "I'm committed by conscience," said Greenville Republican Doug Wavle, who works in the information technology department at Bob Jones University. He called the Democrats' actions to reverse the Florida vote count, "the epitome of arrogance. ... I hope when we finish counting we can go on and elect a president." Tom McLean, a home repair expert from Irmo, said he couldn't imagine any scenario under which he would change his vote to Gore. "I'll be happy when this whole thing is settled," he said. "I just hope it's done by the people, not a bunch of lawyers or the courts." Lee Bandy covers politics.