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

To: ColtonGang who wrote (100231)	12/4/2000 12:49:27 PM
From: PartyTime	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Key Depositions Completed in Seminole County Republican Election Fraud Case, Top Witness for the Defense Provides Crucial Testimony for the Plaintiff 12/03/2000 U.S. Newswire (Copyright 2000) BOCA RATON, Fla., Dec. 3 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Depositions continued Dec. 2 in preparation for Wednesday's trial of Seminole County election supervisor Sandra Goard . Goard is accused of illegally permitting Republican Party officials to fill in 4,700 incomplete GOP absentee ballot requests while simultaneously rejecting incomplete Democratic absentee ballot requests. The plaintiff in the case is Seminole County attorney Harry Jacobs, who is being represented by Gerald Richman of Richman, Greer, Weil, Brumbaugh, Mirabito and Christensen of Palm Beach. Richman characterized the Dec. 2 depositions -- all witnesses called by the defense -- as helpful in creating a record that proves his client's case. Jacobs himself was deposed, but according to Richman the key moment was the testimony of WDBO reporter Ken Altieri. He testified that he interviewed Goard on tape saying that absentee ballot request forms without voter identification numbers would not be honored. This interview was broadcast at the same time as Goard was permitting workers paid by the Republican Party to complete the forms. With most of the depositions now complete Richman says, "I am very confident we will be ready for the one day trial next Wednesday that Judge Clark has told us to expect." On Monday statistical and computer experts are scheduled to be deposed. Meanwhile, the ad hoc organization set up to support Harry Jacobs, the plaintiff in this case, has begun operation of a Web site at justiceinflorida.com. The Justice in Florida committee has been organized by Gregg Weiss, a financial planner in Boca Raton and other Floridians. Democrats.com, the largest independent community of Democratic activists on the Internet is also lending organizational support to this effort. In the first 24 hours of operation the Web site generated more than a dozen contributions to support the out-of- pocket expenses associated with the suit. The Justice in Florida Committee can be reached at 561-477-0930, on the Internet at justiceinflorida.com or via e-mail at info@justiceinflorida.com. Non-tax deductible contributions will also be accepted at Post Office Box 970446 Boca Raton, Fla. 33497-0446. This grassroots effort is entirely independent of the Florida Democratic Party or the Gore for President campaign. Earlier this year, Florida Republicans mailed out thousands of reply requests for absentee ballots to GOP voters that left blank the voter ID number required by Florida's anti-fraud election law. Goard , a Republican, contacted GOP County Chairman James Stelling, who provided two workers worked in her offices filling in the missing voter ID numbers. Under oath yesterday Republican Party regional director Michael Leach admitted that he was in the supervisors office doing this for at least 15 days, unsupervised, and that he changed more than 2,000 forms. Goard did not process similar incomplete requests for absentee ballots from Democratic voters and refused to allow Democratic officials the same opportunity to complete them. Florida law requires the voter, a family member or guardian to complete all information on the absentee ballot application. A 1998 court ruling granted Florida judges broad authority to invalidate elections if fraud or even unintentional error results in a flawed outcome. In Seminole County, Bush also won the 15,000 absentee ballots cast by a 2-to-1 margin. [PARTYTIME NOTE: If anyone knows where Ryan Mitchell, Leach's collegue, is, please contact: Greg Weiss, 561-477-0930 or info@justiceinflorida.com; Web site: justiceinflorida.com ]