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

To: TigerPaw who wrote (80875)	11/18/2000 10:39:28 AM
From: Sir Auric Goldfinger	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Bush Widens Lead in Florida After Absentee Ballots Are Added. Tallahassee, Florida, Nov. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Texas Governor George W. Bush has widened his lead over Vice President Al Gore to 927 votes in Florida, according to an unofficial tally by the Associated Press. Bush tripled his earlier lead of 300 votes by winning about 65 percent of the overseas absentee ballots counted yesterday, according to the AP tally that was based on results from 66 of the state's 67 counties. The Florida state elections commission plans to release an official count for the state later today. The tally doesn't include changes from manual recounts under way in three counties. The Florida Supreme Court has yet to rule on whether they should be included. At stake are Florida's 25 electoral votes and the U.S. presidency. Counts from the other 49 states give Gore 267 electoral votes to Bush's 246, with 270 needed to win the White House. Gore leads in the popular vote by more than 200,000 votes, though that has no direct bearing on the outcome. Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris had planned to certify the state's results today, which would have given Bush the victory. Last night, however, the Florida Supreme Court issued an order barring her from doing so until it determines whether the manual recounts of ballots should be considered in the count, even though they weren't completed by the Tuesday deadline. Hearing Monday The Florida Supreme Court set a hearing for Monday afternoon and said the hand counts can continue in the meantime. Democrats hope that if the hand-counted results show Gore pulling ahead, the political pressure to include them will be overwhelming. ``It would be very hard for the secretary of state to call the election for George Bush if everyone knows Al Gore has more votes,'' said Gore spokesman Doug Hattaway. Ballots are being examined and recounted in Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade counties. In Broward, Gore had a net gain of 48 votes after 22 percent of the precincts were counted. Palm Beach County officials said they had counted about 10 percent of 463,000 ballots, completing 88 of 531 precincts. The canvassing board, however, had finished reviewing challenged ballots in only four precincts, with Bush gaining four votes. Miami-Dade County is just beginning its hand count. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll found 56 percent favor including the results of the recounts in the final tally, with 43 percent wanting them excluded. The survey also suggests public patience may be running out: 57 percent said it's more important to determine within a week who won the election, and 40 percent said it's more important to wait until court cases play out. New Controversy The absentee ballot count added another controversy to the 10- day old drama in Florida. About half the absentee ballots were thrown out because of challenges from Democratic and Republican party officials. Some were disqualified because they were postmarked after the Nov. 7 Election Day, while others lacked signatures of voters or witnesses. ``We can't agree or get along on anything,'' said Kelvin Wells, a Republican attorney and chairman of the Bush campaign in Okaloosa County. The Florida Supreme Court Justices, all appointees of Democratic governors, will review a decision by Circuit Judge Terry P. Lewis, a Democrat, who said that Harris, a Republican, ``exercised her reasoned judgment'' in refusing to accept late recounts under a law that gives her ``broad discretionary authority to accept or reject late-filed returns.'' James A. Baker, a Bush adviser, said the Supreme Court's action was ``designed to maintain the status quo.'' Joseph P. Klock Jr., a lawyer representing Harris, said he was ``surprised by the timing'' of the Supreme Court's ruling ``because they were operating very cautiously during the week.'' --Rob Wells and Glen Justice in Tallahassee and James Rowley in Washington with reporting by Greg Stohr, Laura Litvan and William Roberts in Washington, Susan Decker in Palm Beach and Anna Marie Stolley in Broward County, through the Washington newsroom/mmw/ba Story illustration: To check the Web site of the Florida Supreme Court, go to flcourts.org For more election news, see {ELECT <GO>}

To: TigerPaw who wrote (80875)	11/18/2000 10:42:06 AM
From: TideGlider	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

I don't know about you, but I did my time in the USMC and was never told how to vote by anyone. Never encouraged to vote. Did this happen to you? Where did you serve when you saw such things? 'm sure I don't need to tell you, but most of these thrown out ballots come from bases where the republican party requests the ballot, they are sent in mass to a group of soldiers, and the sarge or someone lines them all up to check the republican ticket box. That's why the soldiers don't know their registration numbers and stuff because they didn't do any more than sign their names. TP BTW I was a Democrat until after Carter! TG

To: TigerPaw who wrote (80875)	11/18/2000 11:18:39 AM
From: Michael M	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

What a STUPID comment. You truly know NOTHING. The absentee ballots must be requested by individual servicemen from their home states. And, unless things have changed, sergeants have nothing to do with the process.

To: TigerPaw who wrote (80875)	11/18/2000 1:00:26 PM
From: greenspirit	Respond to of 769667

This comment, more than any other I have ever seen you make, demonstrates what a complete ignorant buffoon you truly are. You haven't the smallest clue how the military hands out ballots. They come in the mail, just like any other piece of mail, and it's up to the sailors, soldiers or marines whether they want to vote, or whether they don't want to vote. And they are certainly free to decide on their own whom to vote for. Enlisted men and women aren't a bunch of mindless robots who lack understanding of their constitutional rights.

To: TigerPaw who wrote (80875)	11/18/2000 1:33:41 PM
From: Lazarus_Long	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769667

Back when we had the draft, a great many people ended up in the military who REALLY didn't want to be there. Don't you think that if this sort of thing were going on that they would have made sure it got publicized? If not while they were still in, then once they were out and the military had no power over them. If this is as common as you imply, a great many other people would have chimed in to support them. And now, with the volunteer services, many people still end up in the military who would rather be somewhere else. They are forced in by lack of alternatives and sometimes as an alternative to jail time. The same argument applies to them. I have not been in the military, but I have met and dealt with many US military men and women of all ranks in many different circumstances. I have seen NO evidence of anything like what you describe. These people are NOT robots. While they are soldiers, sailors, and airmen, they are also US citizens and they know it. The sort of crap you describe is illegal and they know it, and any NCO or officer who engages in such activity is risking jail and his career and he knows it. Gimme a break. Go peddle your fairy tales on the Gore thread.

To: TigerPaw who wrote (80875)	11/18/2000 2:08:15 PM
From: Dr. Voodoo	Respond to of 769667

That statement is disgusting and shows you ignorance of our nation's military. Anyone caught doing that would be subject to a court martial. You are truly pathetic.

To: TigerPaw who wrote (80875)	11/18/2000 11:47:39 PM
From: U Up U Down	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Tigger, you are scum. Shameless SCUM. <<I'm sure I don't need to tell you, but most of these thrown out ballots come from bases where the republican party requests the ballot, they are sent in mass to a group of soldiers, and the sarge or someone lines them all up to check the republican ticket box. That's why the soldiers don't know their registration numbers and stuff because they didn't do any more than sign their names. >> I spent a few years fighting for your right to spew this crap. Want to fight you low life piece of al gore. Message 14467747 Let's meet. Let's fight!