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Politics : Electoral College 2000 - Ahead of the Curve -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Oral Roberts who wrote (3660)	11/28/2000 7:52:52 AM
From: Carolyn	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 6710

mclaughlinonline.com PANHANDLE POLL SUMMARY Networks' Wrong Florida Call for Gore Cost Bush Votes ------------------------------------------------------------------------ November 20, 2000 CONTACT: John McLaughlin & Associates STUART POLK, Senior Analyst: spolk@mclaughlinonline.com (703/518-4445) CHARLIE BANKS, Data Specialist: cbanks@mclaughlinonline.com (845/353-4700) NATIONAL MEDIA RELEASE Summary: A survey conducted by John McLaughlin & Associates found that the early and incorrect news network announcements declaring Al Gore the winner in Florida may have influenced thousands of last-minute voters in the Central Time Zone section of the Florida Panhandle not to vote. The premature announcement discouraged many registered voters who, according to our survey's results, would have voted like the rest of their neighbors - overwhelmingly for George W. Bush. George W. Bush carried the Central Time Zone section of Florida with two-thirds of the vote (Bush 67% to Gore 31%). However, there were approximately 187,000 registered voters in this area of the Panhandle who did not vote in this election. Similar to the actual results of this election, among the registered voters who did not vote, this poll shows that Bush would have received about two-thirds of their vote. The survey found that 15% of the registered non-voters did not vote because the networks declared Gore the winner in Florida before the polls closed. About 6 in 10 of all voters and non-voters believe that the networks' call influenced people not to vote. Two thirds of all voters and 55% of those who did not vote said that they heard the network call for Al Gore before the polls closed, and 13% of all voters and 23% of non-voters claim that the network call made them less likely to vote. If only a few thousand of these disenfranchised registered voters had heard that the polls were still open, and the race in Florida was still too close to call, and then voted, George W. Bush would have gained a decisive net positive margin of votes over Al Gore. These votes would have helped Bush carry the popular vote statewide without uncertainty. Key Findings: * Among registered voters who did not vote, 15% said that the news reports about Al Gore winning Florida influenced them not to vote for President. "Did the news reports about Al Gore winning Florida influence you not to vote for President?" (Only asked to registered non-voters.) Yes 15.0 % No 83.0 % Don't Know/Refused 2.0 % * Among registered voters who did not vote, 64% would have voted for George W. Bush and 23% would have voted for Al Gore. "If you would have voted for President, for whom would you have voted: Al Gore, the Democrat candidate; George W. Bush, the Republican candidate; Ralph Nader, the Green Party candidate; Pat Buchanan, the Reform Party candidate; or someone else?" (Only asked to registered non-voters.) George W. Bush 64.0 % Al Gore 23.0 % Ralph Nader 0.0 % Pat Buchanan 1.0 % Someone Else 4.0 % Don't Know/Refused 8.0 % * Close to half of all registered voters said the Election Day media coverage before the polls closed favored Al Gore. Only 17.1% said the media coverage favored George W. Bush. "In your opinion, did the Election Day media coverage before the polls closed in your area favor George W. Bush or Al Gore?" Favored Al Gore 45.8 % Favored George W. Bush 17.1 % Favored Neither 13.7 % Don't Know/Refused 23.4 % * Three in five registered voters believe that the news networks influenced people not to vote because they declared the presidential winner in Florida before the polls were closed. "As you may know, news networks declared Al Gore the winner in Florida before the polls closed in the Central Standard Time zone of the Panhandle. Do you believe that the news networks influenced people not to vote because they declared the presidential winner in Florida before the polls were closed?" Yes 59.6 % No 29.7 % Don't Know/Refused 10.7 % * Regardless of the recount for President in Florida, more than 3 in 5 believe George W. Bush actually won the vote in Florida. "Regardless of the current recount for President, who do you believe actually won the vote in the state of Florida, Al Gore or George W. Bush?" George W. Bush 63.4 % Al Gore 18.4 % Don't Know/Refused 18.2 % * A clear majority of the registered voters, 58.0%, believe that if Palm Beach County or any other Florida county is allowed to vote again for President, then the Florida area in the Central Standard Time zone should be allowed to vote again because the media networks incorrectly called Al Gore the winner in Florida before the polls were closed. "If Palm Beach County or any other Florida County is allowed to vote again for President, do you believe that the Florida counties in the Central Standard Time zone should be allowed to vote again because the media networks incorrectly called Al Gore the winner in Florida before the polls were closed?" Yes 58.0 % No 37.0 % Don't Know/Refused 5.0 % Methodology: This survey of political attitudes was conducted on November 15 and 16, 2000, among 676 registered voters in the Central Standard Time zone of the Florida Panhandle, and weighted to reflect actual turnout and results in this region for greater accuracy. All interviews were conducted by professional interviewers via telephone. Interview selection was random within predetermined election units. These units were structured to correlate with actual voter distributions in this recent election. The accuracy of this survey is +/- 4.0% at a 95% confidence interval.

To: Oral Roberts who wrote (3660)	11/28/2000 8:42:10 AM
From: Vendit™	Respond to of 6710

Im right.........here it is in black and white: Don't interfere, Florida Legislature tells U.S. high court By MARK HOLLIS, Sun-Sentinel Web-posted: 10:33 p.m. Nov. 27, 2000 TALLAHASSEE -- The Republican-dominated Florida Legislature on Monday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to stay out of the dispute over the contested presidential election, just as a special committee of state legislators prepared to meet today to look into "voting irregularities." Lawyers hired by the Florida Senate and House of Representatives said in a 16-page brief sent to the high court that the questions regarding whether the electoral process in Florida has conformed with pre-existing law are not issues for the court to decide. The lawyers said federal law makes clear that the political questions are to be resolved first by the Legislature or by the U.S. Congress. A rare situation "What's at stake here is, after all, a political determination of who shall be the next president," lawyers for the Legislature wrote. "In this rare circumstance, it is entirely appropriate to have it resolved by branches of government that are most responsive to the will of the people." When a state's electoral process has failed to make a choice that is timely and conforms to pre-existing rules, the Legislature must appoint the electors, lawyers argued. The Legislature, not the courts, must decide when a failure to make such a choice has occurred, they said. GOP legislative leaders said the legal action is necessary because the state Supreme Court usurped the Legislature's powers when it allowed hand counting of ballots in several counties to be extended. "I do not want to be the House speaker that presided over the undermining of the legitimate power of the Florida House," said newly chosen House Speaker Tom Feeney, R-Oviedo. A GOP solution Senate President John McKay, R-Bradenton, said GOP leaders "firmly and unequivocally believe the state Supreme Court overstepped its proper boundaries in an arbitrary manner." The U.S. Supreme Court will hear an appeal Friday by Bush challenging a Florida high court ruling that extended the deadline for reporting hand-counted ballots in the state's final tally. Worried that George W. Bush's narrow win in Florida, and the possibility that Gore's legal challenges could prevail, legislative leaders are moving the Legislature into position to decide the presidential contest. Should the election remain deadlocked in the courts, the GOP-crafted legislative solution would be to convene a special session to either adopt a resolution or pass a bill that would choose electors who are pledged to vote for Bush. Republicans insist that a decision about a special session hasn't been made. But Democrats say it's almost a certainty that such a session will be convened -- over their objections and as early as later this week. Partisan rancor Electors must be chosen by Dec. 12, and they must vote on Dec. 18. State legislators would likely have to convene at least a week prior to Dec. 12. Today's joint legislative committee could lead to a special session even though the 14-member panel is officially charged only with looking at voting irregularities, including failure to count overseas ballots and inconsistent standards used by counties in tabulating the presidential vote. But GOP leaders added that the committee also will review "the responsibilities and options" of the Legislature with regards to their potential appointment of presidential electors. The partisan rancor created by a legislative endgame would be bitter and not quickly forgotten. Both Feeney and Senate President John McKay said they have both been told by Gov. Jeb Bush to be wary of the political fires they may ignite should the Legislature handpick Florida's 25 electors. Complications "This is not going to be exactly like walking through a rose garden," Feeney said. The Legislature's maneuvers are also complicated by the fact that Florida's governor is trying to stay away from the controversy. To avoid a conflict over his brother's candidacy, the Jeb Bush would likely not sign any bill passed in a special session. Instead, he likely would wait the required seven days for it to become law without his signature. Feeling powerless against the Republicans, Democrats complained angrily about the creation of the special committee and its apparent direction toward a special session. "I just think we're going down the wrong road," said Rep. Lois Frankel, the House Minority Leader and a West Palm Beach Democrat. "It's just not going to look right to the county. I can't believe the American public would allow George W. Bush to have his allies in the Florida Legislature hand (the election) over to him." Democrats said they would tout this week the idea of abandoning the winner-take-all-system of awarding electoral votes, replacing it with a method that splits electors according to the popular vote. "The public voted 50-50 on this, and to have all the electors go to one candidate would be taking the votes away from the people," said Rep. Ken Gottlieb, a Miramar Democrat who will sit on the special committee. sun-sentinel.com