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

To: Ilaine who wrote (1309)	11/19/2000 9:28:14 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 3887

GOP blasts election board double standard Palm Beach rejected hand count over 11-vote margin 8 weeks ago by Jon E. Dougherty A Republican congressman has called attention to what he says is a double standard being employed by the Palm Beach County canvassing board because it rejected a hand count in a close state primary just eight weeks ago. According to Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., Palm Beach canvassing officials -- led by elections supervisor Theresa LaPore -- refused to allow a recount requested by Beverly Green, a candidate for a seat in the Florida House, after a machine count indicated she lost by just 14 votes. The ballot used in that race was the very same butterfly ballot claimed by the Gore campaign and Palm Beach officials as "confusing" to thousands of voters who cast ballots in the Nov. 7 election. After a second machine recount brought that margin down to 11 votes, there was some movement made toward Green requesting a manual recount. However, LaPore indicated, according to a report in the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, that a request by Green would be rejected because "it wasn't that close." LaPore added, "A manual count is historically [conducted] when it's single digits" that divide candidates. "This board just eight weeks ago said that a margin of 11 votes wasn't close," Weldon said in a statement, "but now they are saying a difference of over 116,000 votes in Palm Beach County between Mr. Bush and Mr. Gore is simply too close and merits a hand recount. Green could not be reached for comment. "It's clear to me that this board is driven by partisan politics whose only goal is to invent new votes for Al Gore," Weldon added. "Their own record clearly demonstrates this." Also noteworthy, Weldon said, was that in past hand recounts, the Palm Beach canvassing board required that at least two corners of the paper chad -- the small square piece of paper punched out on punch card ballots -- be separated for the vote to count. "The county has now decided that no corner of the chad needs to be broken," said the statement. "If the chad is indented at all, they will count it as a vote for Mr. Gore." "Now that the board sees the need to create as many votes for Al Gore as possible," Weldon said, "they have rejected the standard they have used for the last 10 years and have adopted the lowest standard possible. "If this isn't blatant partisanship, I don't know what is," he added. A complete hand recount of 462,657 ballots in Palm Beach resumed Thursday night after being delayed for three days while court battles waged between Gore campaign officials and lawyers for Texas Gov. George W. Bush. According to The Palm Beach Post, "[the canvassing] board announced at the start of the count that it would change its 10-year-old standard to be consistent with Broward County, which also is hand-counting all of its presidential ballots." And on Friday, the Florida Supreme Court, in a late-day ruling, said Secretary of State Katherine Harris could not certify all of the state's ballots -- including overseas absentee ballots -- until at least Monday, when the court could reconvene again to hear arguments from both camps. Weldon was also critical of the vice president. "The pious, high-handedness shown by Al Gore and his minions in Palm Beach is a partisan and hypocritical attempt to steal this election," he said. "Now that the facts are out in the open to show how partisan Palm Beach County's decisions have been, Al Gore should accept the verdict of the Florida voters."