-Caveat Lector-
With Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff
For the story behind the story...
Saturday November 11, 2000; 3:15 PM ET
Recount Proceeds in Defiance of State Secretary's Ballot Ruling
A hand recount of Palm Beach County's ballots was scheduled to
proceed Saturday afternoon despite a determination by Florida's
Secretary of State contradicting Democrats who complained that
the ballot's design was "illegal."
Questions about the county's "butterfly ballot" format had been
the driving force behind calls for a recount from Florida
Democrats all week, with the Gore campaign and its allies
repeatedly claiming that the ballot did not comply with state
law.
But Secretary of State Katherine Harris, a Republican elected in
1998, blew that argument out of the water late Friday, in a
statement announcing that Palm Beach County's butterfly ballot
"conforms in all respects to the requirements of the Florida
law."
"The Department of State has now reviewed the Palm Beach County
ballot," her office announced. "Clay Roberts, director of the
Division of Elections, and Deborah Kearney, general counsel for
the Department of State, have determined that the design and
layout of the ballot does conform to the law of the state of
Florida."
Harris' ruling severely erodes the impact of Democrat claims that
some 30,000 Palm Beach voters were "disenfranchised" when voting
machines rejected their ballots. A handful of Palm Beach
residents have complained the ballot left them so confused they
inadvertently ruined their ballots or voted for the wrong
candidate.
Underscoring the importance of the Secretary of State's
determination, Gore campaign manager Bill Daley rushed to the
microphones to respond. "Legal experts have told us that they see
it as an illegal ballot," he countered, without saying whether
the Gore campaign planned to challenge Harris' decision in court.
As a Florida state official, Harris has legal jurisdiction over
the matter while Daley and his Democratic Party lawyers have
none.
Despite the blockbuster ruling, most Americans remain unaware
that the central complaint driving the historic post election
crisis has been judged meritless by Florida authorities.
Harris' ruling was barely noted in Saturday press accounts.
Indeed, the establishment press continued to cover the ballot
story as if Harris' decision had no legal impact whatsoever.
Saturday's New York Times offered a reproduction of the document
complete with sidebars explaining why so many voters were
confused. The Times captioned the diagram: "Defective Equipment:
The Palm Beach County Ballot."
With a green light from the media if not from Harris, Palm Beach
Democratic officials pressed ahead with plans for a hand recount.
The initial decision for a manual recount was made by the
county's "three member (canvassing) board, consisting only of
Democrats, which granted requests Thursday as protesters and
lawsuits against Palm Beach County's 'butterfly ballot' piled
up," reported Saturday's Palm Beach Post. "The suits claim the
ballot book was illegal..."
Saturday morning the Bush campaign announced it was filing suit
to stop the manual recount and will undoubtedly cite Harris'
ruling that Palm Beach County's butterfly ballot is entirely
legal.
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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