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

To: jlallen who wrote (108036)	12/9/2000 3:13:59 PM
From: Ellen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

Message 14983768 State statute she used 11/13/00 quoted. Also: usatoday.com Officials list reasons for rejected ballots By Dave Moniz and Jessie Halladay, USA TODAY Republicans have accused Florida Democrats of disenfranchising military personnel by invalidating absentee ballots from overseas that lacked postmarks. But a review of the state's presidential ballots from overseas suggests that the vast majority were thrown out for other reasons. Of 3,733 overseas ballots received in Florida since Election Day, 1,527 were rejected, according to a count by the Associated Press. Supporters of George W. Bush have made a big issue of the rejections, saying they were mainly ballots from troops likely to vote Republican. Backers of Al Gore have denied that there was any orchestrated effort to discount the votes of military personnel. USA TODAY canvassed election officials in 14 Florida counties accounting for three-fifths of the rejected ballots. Only about 11% percent were rejected for not having a postmark, the analysis showed. By contrast, 24% were disqualified for being postmarked after Election Day, 11% for improper registration, 5% for invalid signatures and 49% for other violations that ranged from improper witnesses to failure to request a ballot within the required 30 days. The counties surveyed included many with major military installations and large populations. Military and Florida officials acknowledge that the military postal system often fails to mark and date overseas mail. Under state law, overseas ballots that were postmarked by Election Day were to be counted so long as they arrived in county offices by last Friday. Monday, Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth, a Democrat, urged counties to count overseas military ballots without postmarks. But it was unclear how many ballots would be affected by his proposal. Most of the election officials contacted by USA TODAY did not have a breakdown of how many unmarked ballots came from the military as opposed to civilians living overseas, including federal employees. The officials said they assumed a majority came from military posts. There was also the question of whether Butterworth had the authority to change state rules regarding absentee ballots from overseas. Currently, those ballots must have a postmark or a date from an express delivery service. "I think too much is being made of this," said Marilyn Gerkin, election supervisor in Sarasota County. Gerkin said her county received 60 overseas ballots, of which 25 were rejected. She could not provide an exact breakdown of the reasons but said only a small percentage were discounted because of questions about the postmark. Sarasota County was not among the 14 included in the analysis. In military-heavy Okaloosa County, 48 overseas ballots were rejected, but only one for lacking a postmark. County Election Supervisor Pat Hollarn said 21 were rejected because the voters failed to request a ballot within 30 days. In Bay County, near Tyndall Air Force Base, 59 overseas ballots were accepted and 29 rejected, 10 because they did not have postmarks, Election Supervisor Melanie Williams-Boyd said. But in at least one county, a large number of ballots rejected were from U.S. government workers assigned abroad. Of the 31 overseas ballots rejected by Brevard County, 17 were military and 14 non-military, Election Supervisor Fred Galey said. Bush campaign spokeswoman Mindy Tucker said of Butterworth's proposal, "We're glad he agrees with us." Although some ballots of military personnel were likely rejected, members of the armed forces had a major say in Florida's extraordinarily tight presidential vote. The state is a haven for military voters: Nearly 180,000 of the nation's 1.4 million active-duty troops - almost 13% - are registered in the state. Some 149,000 claim Florida residency but do not live there, Pentagon figures show. A Defense survey following the 1996 election showed that 64% of military personnel voted for president, compared to 49% of civilians.