Florida newspaper finds no evidence of election fraud
By Meg Laughlin and David Kidwell
Knight Ridder Newspapers
LAKE BUTLER, Fla. — Since President Bush captured Florida and the White House again, critics have fixed their sights on northern pockets of the Sunshine State and asked: How did the Republicans win so heavily in counties stocked with Democrats?
Some wondered whether Florida's tally was corrupt, with one Internet site writing: "George W. Bush's vote tallies, especially in the key state of Florida, are so statistically stunning that they border on the unbelievable."
The Miami Herald last week went to see for itself whether Bush's steamroll through north Florida was legitimate. Picking three counties that fit the conspiracy-theory profile — staunchly Democratic by registration, whoppingly GOP by voting — two reporters counted more than 17,000 ballots over three days.
The conclusion: no conspiracy.
The count of optical-scan ballots in Suwannee, Lafayette and Union counties showed Bush whipping John Kerry in a region where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 3-1.
The Herald found minor differences with official results, most involving ballots that had been discarded as unreadable by optical-scan machines but in which reporters thought the voter's intent was clear.
Under the optical-scan system, voters fill in an oval or darken an arrow by a candidate's name. A machine reads the card optically.
Kerry solidly won the battle in South Florida, but Bush won the war by dominating everywhere else in the state, particularly in the 52 counties that use optical-scan ballots, which can be checked for accuracy.
Republicans often had done fairly well in those counties, but this year more so.
Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 340,000 voters in the 52 counties, but Bush took them by about 340,000 votes — a 680,000-vote swing that assured him of victory.
The Herald focused on three counties that represented some of the more severe disparities between registrations and votes, beginning Monday in Union County, where more than 75 percent of registered voters are Democrats.
"People here traditionally register as Democrats to vote in local primaries, but they're very conservative," Union County Judge Dave Reimer said. "When I came here in 1983, there were only 54 registered Republicans in the whole county."
Election Supervisor Babs Montpetit was more direct. "People here are mostly fundamentalist Christians who work in the prisons," she said. "Do you think they're going to vote for the liberal senator from Massachusetts?"
The Herald total: 3,393 votes for Bush, 1,272 for Kerry. Fifteen votes couldn't be counted clearly.
The county's official total: 3,396 for Bush, 1,251 for Kerry and a few dozen that couldn't be counted.
The next stop was west a bit, in neighboring Suwannee County. Election Supervisor Glenda Williams greeted reporters at the election office in Live Oak: "Most people in this county are against abortion and gay marriage. So, they voted for Bush."
The Herald counted almost 60 percent of the votes in Suwannee, where nearly 64 percent of voters are registered Democrats.
The newspaper's total: 6,140 votes for Bush and 2,984 for Kerry, which nearly matched the county's official tally.
Next stop: Mayo in Lafayette County, where 83 percent of voters are registered Democrats. Along the way were neighborhoods called "The Christian Village" and a warehouse called "The Christian Outlet." One billboard said: "There is life before birth."
Four years ago, the Florida vote was so tight, and so flawed, that the Herald counted every questionable ballot. The results weren't as close this time, but questions remained. Reporters told Lafayette County Election Supervisor Lana Morgan the newspaper had come back to end the speculation.
"Good," she said. "You don't know how frustrating it is to convince people who are set on believing something — even if it's not true."
The reporters' total: 2,452 votes for Bush and 848 for Kerry, with 20 that couldn't be counted clearly. The official county total: 2,460 for Bush, 845 for Kerry and others that couldn't be counted.
Morgan invited the reporters for an early Thanksgiving dinner in her office, but they had to return home, driving to the Jacksonville airport past Snoball stands, chicken farms and anti-abortion billboards.
Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company
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