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Politics : The Donkey's Inn -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TigerPaw who wrote (5001)	10/21/2002 7:49:28 PM
From: Dorine Essey	Respond to of 15516

nbc6.net Get Out And Vote Today! Federal Monitors To Observe Vote In Three Counties Joy-Ann Reid, Staff Writer POSTED: 6:12 p.m. EDT October 18, 2002 UPDATED: 5:15 p.m. EDT October 21, 2002 MIAMI -- The U.S. Justice Department is sending federal monitors to Florida to observe the polls on Nov. 5. FeedRoom Operation Early Bird Monitors have been designated for polling places in Miami-Dade, Osceola and Orange counties. The Justice Department had agreed to send in monitors to those counties as part of its settlement of a civil rights lawsuit over the 2000 presidential election. The Secretary of State's Office asked for additional monitors to focus on counties that had problems in the primary. Smart Voter Tip: Starting Monday, Miami-Dade and Broward residents can vote early at several county locations. For more information, click here. Justice Department spokesman Jorge Martinez said the civil rights division was still discussing with state officials which other counties would have monitors. David Host, spokesman for Secretary of State Jim Smith's office said the state department would recommend that any additional monitors be sent to Miami-Dade and Broward counties, but the Justice Department would make the final decision. Division of Elections director Clay Roberts said state officials would also discuss providing help for other counties, such as Duval, where some voters received or cast the wrong ballot in September. Secretary of State Jim Smith requested help from U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft following the problem-plagued September primary. Ashcroft agreed to send 20 federal observers to ensure voters get to exercise their rights. "Our paramount concern is to protect access to, and the integrity of, the voting process for all qualified voters," Ashcroft wrote to Smith in a letter released Friday. The Justice Department will also provide Florida with $100,000 in assistance to "ensure the integrity of the election process and to prevent election law violations." Smith said he hopes to use the extra federal dollars to pay for more advertisements encouraging people to take advantage of Florida's early voting system. The move is an unprecedented one, but it's one Smith said was necessary to prevent another embarrassment for the state on Nov. 5. "We're trying to take every reasonable step that we can to make sure this election goes well," Smith said. The federal team will have a very limited role, with the observers only mandated to watch for irregularities at the polls, especially in mostly minority precincts. They will then report back to the Justice Department's civil rights division. Larry Spalding of the American Civil Liberties Union applauded the move. He said there was strong evidence of voting irregularities that disproportionately affected minorities in the Sept. 10 primary and in 2000. "The last thing Florida needs regardless of who wins the election is for us to be sitting around and talking about Irregularities, improprieties, and whether somehow the result was tainted (on Nov. 5)" Spalding said. Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas said he welcomed the federal monitors. "We have absolutely nothing to hide, so we're more than happy to have them here monitoring our election," said Penelas. But he criticized a plan approved by the county commission that will bring observers from the Washington, D.C-based Center for Democracy to also monitor the Dade election. The non-profit group normally monitors elections in developing countries. "I don't think we should be paying anybody (to observe elections) ... because it creates an inherent conflict of interest," Penelas said, referring to the commission plan's $92,000 price tag. "It's unprecedented." But the ACLU applauds the monitoring plans, which they say could help ensure that minority voters are not disenfranchised. Copyright 2002 by NBC6.net The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.