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11/24
Lynette Warren
for Union Square Journal
The Great Florida Vote Hunt - Will Florida Ever Live
it Down?
Florida has been scrutinized for the past two weeks not only by
Americans, but by the overseas media, who look on more in dismay than
derision and wait for it all to end. However, in spite of the ratings
and advertising boon this has been for the
all-news networks, it’s plain that no one besides a happy cable
executive reading those numbers is
really enjoying this roller coaster ride enough to want it to go on and
on.
If anyone thought this would be a short, quiet Thanksgiving week on
the decision 2000 front, they were snapped to their senses Tuesday
night with the ruling announced by the Florida State Supreme Court amid tightened security.
The court ruled that in the interest of the voters, hand counting of the
Florida ballots must continue and the counting must be completed by 5pm
Sunday, November 26.
A smiling David Boies, attorney for Gore-Lieberman, appeared before the cameras shortly
after the announcement to praise the justices’
commitment to the voters. Well, at least their commitment to voter
intent, anyway. And, if not to the voters of the whole state of Florida,
at least to those in the most heavily Democratic precincts.
This had not been a David vs. Goliath endeavor for the man who
brought Microsoft to its knees. While there is no doubt that he’s wise
enough never to take any venue for granted, this case would have
been a likely shoo-in for any lesser lawyer, in light of the fact that the
seven justices of Florida’s highest court were nominated by Democrat
governors. Their unanimous decision to stay Secretary of State Katherine
Harris’s certification of the election until the extended deadline may
have stopped presses and pre-empted regular TV news programming, but it
came as no great surprise to those who followed this closely.
Certainly it came as no surprise to Michael Carvin and Barry
Richards, the lawyers who represented Governor Bush in Monday’s
hearing. They seemed, at times during the proceedings, to be arguing
right over the heads of the vaunted Florida justices in anticipation of
appeals to the Federal courts.
It was apparent that Carvin’s plea to the justices to not,
after the election has been held, change the rules by which the election
would be conducted, had fallen on deaf ears. He argued to lift the stay
that pre-empted Secretary of State Harris from certifying the election,
as specifically mandated in the Florida state legislation.
"That's why we have deadlines and that’s why we have uniform
rules because we want election contests to be decided, not in this
fevered, partisan environment where everyone knows that the way they
proceed in counting ballots or whether they use a two corner rule versus
a dimpled ballot, it may well affect the outcome of the election.
Because that introduces subjectivity and partisanship into it. And that
is why it is very important that we follow the rules that are set forth
in the statutes that were written by the legislature long ago," he
told the court.
One justice seemed to emphasize Democratic talking points when she
pressed Carvin on Texas law permitting hand counting. "Isn’t
that what Governor Bush approved of when he signed the
legislation?" Justice Barbara Pariente asked.
In a move of blatant judicial audacity, another justice indicated
that she regarded the legislation as a guideline more than a concrete
rule. For example, regarding the rules for the use of discretion by the
Secretary of State in abiding by the mandated seven day deadline for
certification, Justice Polly Quince asked, "And what are the
guidelines for the exercise of what you see as that discretion?"
Barry Richards passionately replied, "The legislature has
established no guidelines. The guidelines that this court has
established as long as institutional memory exists, is whether or not
the exercise by that state agent is clearly erroneous and I suggest to
this court that the appellants have given this court no basis in this
case for finding that the Secretary of State’s decision was clearly
erroneous.
"That's the issue! And whether or not history ultimately looks
kindly upon what we do here, I believe, will depend upon whether we have
abandoned those principles of law and statutory construction and
separation of powers that we have adhered to for so long."
The Justices didn’t see it that way. Tuesday night’s ruling was
chalked up as the most significant victory for Al Gore. Like clockwork
Gore appeared Tuesday evening in a well-rehearsed broadcast decked out
in make-up and a red power tie and appealed to George Bush to accept the
outcome of the state Supreme Court’s ruling.
Bush’s 930 vote lead would be vulnerable to the impending inclusion
of so-called "undervoted" ballots, with which county
canvassers will be expected to divine voter intent by reading bumps and
the slightest indentations on the cards. Ballot phrenology, it could be
called.
By Wednesday morning all hell seemed to be breaking loose for the
Bush camp. Dick Cheney had been hospitalized at George Washington
University with chest pains in the early morning hours. The Miami-Dade
Canvassing Board would propose counting only the undervoted ballots,
leaving the properly punched ballots out of the hand count total. This
could have been disastrous for George Bush. Miami-Dade with only 135
of 614 of precincts completed had already found a net gain of 157 votes
for Al Gore, since it began the hand count on Monday.
Ironically, it would be the direction written the night before by the
Florida Supreme Court that would save the Bush lead from what was projected as
substantial erosion from the Miami-Dade hand count.
In a surprise move and acting under legal advisement, Miami-Dade
announced that it would end the recounting process altogether and submit
the machine results from their November 8th recount as their
final tally. They’re hands were tied, according to the canvassing
board, because the wording in the state Supreme Court ruling stated they
must recount 100% of the precincts by the Sunday deadline in order for
the recount to be valid.
The Board said that it wouldn’t be possible to count all the votes
by the Sunday deadline so they abruptly ended the process on Wednesday
afternoon. Miami-Dade, a shining hope for Al Gore votes, threw in the
towel, excusing itself from the Great Florida Vote Hunt. Attorneys for Gore-Lieberman
filed an emergency petition with the state Supreme Court to force Miami-Dade
to keep counting. The court denied it without prejudice making no further
comment on the decision.
Also on Wednesday George Bush appeared (sans power tie) at midday in
an Austin press conference expressing his disappointment in the Florida
Supreme Court’s ruling. He said they had overstepped their authority
by effectively changing the Florida statute instead of merely
interpreting it. He also took the opportunity to ensure the public that
Dick Cheney’s condition was not serious, even though he remained in
the hospital. Cheney’s doctors have since announced that he had a
"slight heart attack."
Bush is appealing the Florida Supreme Court ruling to the United
States Supreme Court. Governor Bush is also suing in a Florida court to
have some of the disqualified military absentee ballots reinstated and
counted.
Also on Wednesday, the Bush-Cheney campaign lost their attempt to
exclude the notorious "dimpled chads" from the ballot count in
Palm Beach County. These unpenetrated anemic voting curiosities are
believed to be a potential for more Al Gore vote gains.
It’s been a circus. On the ground the media in Florida say things
are heating up. Democrats admonish their opponents to remain calm and
accepting of the legal processes which are going on in the state.
"Tone down the rhetoric," has become the buzz phrase du jour.
Democrats keep repeating it like a mantra.
Crowds supporting Bush remain upbeat, but determined, and continue to
show up on the front lines day and night, carrying signs such as the
now familiar "Sore Loserman" take-off on the
"Gore-Lieberman" placard. One Miami demonstrator carried a
handmade sign that modestly proclaimed, "I see dead people… AND
THEY’RE VOTING FOR GORE-LIEBERMAN!" proving that through it all
Floridians have lost neither their flair, nor their (sixth?) sense of
humor.
But Floridians are getting at least as good as they give. They’ve
become the butt of stupid jokes. "How many Palm Beach voters does
it take to change a light bulb? None, they can’t find the socket."
Will Florida live down The Great Vote Hunt? Do they deserve the
disdain or raised eyebrows of voters in other states from New York to California? Well, folks, outside of a few demonstrators who showed up
outside the Palm Beach County Courthouse at the behest of Democrat
telemarketers protesting the infamous butterfly ballot, I can think of
no reason why the voters of Florida should be ashamed. They’ve hung in
there. When reporters and other talking heads indulged in hand-wringing
regarding their fears of ugliness and tension in the streets, the
demonstrators remain, under the circumstances, models of restraint and
even civility, for the most part. They didn’t crumble on election
night when most of the major networks announced that the state had gone
to Gore and they aren’t caving now.
© Lynette Warren 2000 All rights reserved
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