Most of the media gives support
to those who criticize the confused voters of Palm Beach County ballot
by not explaining what they actually found once they got in the voting booth.
There, the ballots looked different, were slanted back, with the holes no
longer lining up. The media's examples are usually much clearer and easier
to understand than what was in the booths. Here are some relatively accurate
examples, including photos of the Sample Ballot and voting booth version.
Not only were the instructions in the sample ballot wrong, but the butterfly
ballot violated county law by having Buchanan's hole in 2nd place and Gore's
in 3rd.. Check out the Butterfly Ballot..... And the Chad and Dimples
Then there were the Protests:
Photos of Early Revote Protests in Florida!
Protest
Planned all around the country! "If election "irregularities"
in one state are allowed to invalidate the nation's popular vote, then
democracy is in real trouble. Protest were planned for Saturday 11/11
onward using the
message board and other resources. Response has been enormous. Protests
occurred in many cities! Protest, call friends and your local media. The
national popular vote must be respected. There are numerous constitutional
ways that could happen. The pundits are just waiting to see whether we,
the people, insist on it."
Some
updates on local demonstrations!
On 11/12/2000 Palm Beach County called for hand recount of all their ballots. The Republicans stalled. After staying the certifications 11/21/2000, the Florida Supreme Court said the counting could continue, but only until Sunday! The Republicans "rioted" and Miami Dade County Board stopped counting, intimidated said unable to count all ballots by the deadline! Broward Co. came through on time with extra votes, but now Palm Beach ran out of steam. First they took Thanksgiving off, then they didn't fight the Republicans opposition to dimpled votes and chairman Charles Burton naively asked Secretary of State Harris for an extension! The predictable result was Palm Beach failed to get any of its disputed votes to count! Then the contest went to the Florida Courts!
They were heroes
for a time!
Then they failed to get the votes in on time!
Even Tipper Gore seems to be calling for a rejection of "Fuzzy Math!"
Then there were the Courts:
Judge Sauls said there was no need for a recount and
Gore lawyers appealed to the FL Supreme Court.
On 12/8/2000 the judges in the Seminole and Martin counties concluded
in spite of Election officials giving special assistance to Republican
voters, the count had been "Full and Fair"! The Bush lawyer
had the audacity to claim this proved that all votes both Republican and
Democratic had been treated "alike." But then the FL Supreme
Court, in a 4 to 3 decision overturned Judge Sauls and said Count the
Votes!
Florida Supreme Court Decision
IF
THE VOTE WERE FLAWLESS!
Check CNN for breaking news and Court challenges
