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Oliphant Charged With 55 Count of Election Law Violations
AP | 3/09/04

Posted on 03/09/2004 12:09:50 AM PST by kattracks

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Suspended Broward Supervisor of Elections Miriam Oliphant has been charged with 55 counts of violating election laws. Oliphant, already facing a Senate trial for her conduct in office, is accused of not opening polls on time and not keeping them open late enough during the September 2002 primary.

The Florida Elections Commission levied the charges against Oliphant at its Feb. 19 meeting. If found guilty, Oliphant faces a fine of up to $55,000.

She has 30 days to respond and can choose to appear in administrative court or in front of the Elections Commission.

Oliphant, a Democrat, was suspended Nov. 20 without pay by Gov. Jeb Bush, who removed her for "gross carelessness." Bush appointed retired elementary school principal Brenda Snipes to replace Oliphant.

Oliphant, who took office after the 2000 presidential election meltdown, came under scrutiny following 2002's botched gubernatorial primary. Voters received bad ballots and inaccurate registration information; some polls opened late and others closed early; thousands of votes were not counted until a week after the election.

The 2002 election - the first test of touch-screen election equipment - was so chaotic in Broward and Miami-Dade counties that Bush ordered polls across Florida to stay open an additional two hours, until 9 p.m.

The commission found that 24 Broward precincts opened late; 13 because they didn't have the proper materials and the rest because they didn't have enough poll workers. Another 32 polls closed before the 9 p.m. deadline.

Two other agencies had exonerated her for potential criminal and ethical violations: the Florida Ethics Commission and the Broward State Attorney's Office.

Oliphant's attorney, Henry Hunter of Tallahassee, said he questions the timing of the commission's charges. Hunter, also representing Oliphant in her Senate suspension trial, said other counties had experienced similar problems at the polls during the 2002 primary.

"There were problems everywhere, particularly in Dade County," Hunter said. "The problems she incurred are not different. She's not the only supervisor of elections to have precincts open late and close early."



TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: 2002election; closedpollsearly; crime; d; dadecounty; democrat; democratprimary; democrats; election; election2002; electionfraud; electionofficial; electionscommission; florida; floriduh; janetreno; miriamoliphant; oliphant; rattricks; reno; votefraud; voterfraud; votingirregularities
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1 posted on 03/09/2004 12:09:51 AM PST by kattracks
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To: kattracks
Well, there goes Kerry's campaign strategy for Florida.
2 posted on 03/09/2004 12:10:55 AM PST by CWOJackson (What are you complaining about, she called me compassionate...)
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To: kattracks
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Suspended Broward Supervisor of Elections Miriam Oliphant has been charged with 55 counts of violating election laws. Oliphant, already facing a Senate trial for her conduct in office, is accused of not opening polls on time and not keeping them open late enough during the September 2002 primary.

The Florida Elections Commission levied the charges against Oliphant at its Feb. 19 meeting. If found guilty, Oliphant faces a fine of up to $55,000.

She has 30 days to respond and can choose to appear in administrative court or in front of the Elections Commission.

Oliphant, a Democrat, was suspended Nov. 20 without pay by Gov. Jeb Bush, who removed her for "gross carelessness." Bush appointed retired elementary school principal Brenda Snipes to replace Oliphant.

Oliphant, who took office after the 2000 presidential election meltdown, came under scrutiny following 2002's botched gubernatorial primary. Voters received bad ballots and inaccurate registration information; some polls opened late and others closed early; thousands of votes were not counted until a week after the election.

The 2002 election - the first test of touch-screen election equipment - was so chaotic in Broward and Miami-Dade counties that Bush ordered polls across Florida to stay open an additional two hours, until 9 p.m.

The commission found that 24 Broward precincts opened late; 13 because they didn't have the proper materials and the rest because they didn't have enough poll workers. Another 32 polls closed before the 9 p.m. deadline.

Two other agencies had exonerated her for potential criminal and ethical violations: the Florida Ethics Commission and the Broward State Attorney's Office.

Oliphant's attorney, Henry Hunter of Tallahassee, said he questions the timing of the commission's charges. Hunter, also representing Oliphant in her Senate suspension trial, said other counties had experienced similar problems at the polls during the 2002 primary.

"There were problems everywhere, particularly in Dade County," Hunter said. "The problems she incurred are not different. She's not the only supervisor of elections to have precincts open late and close early."



3 posted on 03/09/2004 12:14:07 AM PST by coloradan (Hence, etc.)
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To: kattracks
Oliphant Charged With 55 Count of Election Law Violations

Must have been real rough serving the warrant.


4 posted on 03/09/2004 12:22:16 AM PST by Slings and Arrows (Am Yisrael Chai!)
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To: kattracks
Being the entire Oliphant family (ok, exaggerating for effect here) was put on the Broward Election Commissions payroll, will they just slither back to the bingo halls?
5 posted on 03/09/2004 12:26:35 AM PST by JoeSixPack1 (POW/MIA, Bring 'em home, NOW!)
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To: CWOJackson
Bingo!
6 posted on 03/09/2004 12:43:54 AM PST by ambrose ("John Kerry has blood of American soldiers on his hands" - Lt. Col. Oliver North)
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To: kattracks
While the issues of Florida election voting irregularities dominates the press, will anyone talk of the Oliphant in the room?

Flipper, the Slippery Senator, says yes. And no.
7 posted on 03/09/2004 3:16:28 AM PST by Enduring Freedom (REMEMBER 9/11)
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To: CWOJackson
Does anyone remember the title of the book written by Democrat operatives that showed how they could guarantee an election through recounts? It was talked about during the 2000 FL debacle. Wouldn't it be wonderful to find a copy of their guidebook and publish it on the web?
8 posted on 03/09/2004 3:19:09 AM PST by Elkiejg (Clintons and Democrats have ruined America)
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To: Elkiejg
Does anyone remember the title of the book written by Democrat operatives that showed how they could guarantee an election through recounts?...Wouldn't it be wonderful to find a copy of their guidebook and publish it on the web?

Yes and Funny, too!...for ALL to see...."printed/authorized by the National Democratic Party"

9 posted on 03/09/2004 3:51:37 AM PST by skinkinthegrass (Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get you :)
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To: Slings and Arrows
That particular corner of Florida is home to a breed of elite liberals who are convinced that their own excrement is odorless. (We have a different way of saying that in the Panhandle)
10 posted on 03/09/2004 5:11:47 AM PST by capt. norm (They are training pilots in them)
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To: kattracks

Based on the graph behind Mizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Oliphant, it appears she already has the 2004 election taken care of. My guess is us right-wing Pubbies ain't the one on the right on the graph.

11 posted on 03/09/2004 5:45:25 AM PST by geedee (A word to the wise ain't necessary. It's the stupid ones who need the advice.)
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To: Elkiejg; kattracks; oldglory; Luke FReeman; MinuteGal; gonzo; Bob Ireland; sheikdetailfeather; ...
"Does anyone remember the title of the book written by Democrat operatives that showed how they could guarantee an election through recounts?" ~ Elkiejg

On 10-22-03 Phil Brennan at Newsmax wrote:

Timothy Downs, Chris Sautter and John Hardin Young, [wrote] the definitive book on recounts, "The Recount Primer."

As the Washington Post reported in a remarkable and even-handed series on the aftermath of the 2000 election in Florida, "A Wild Ride Into Uncharted Territory," they tore pages from their book and copied them using two airborne fax machines.

What they said in their book was that "If a candidate is behind, the scope should be as broad as possible, and the rules should be different from those used election night." In other words, Young said, "It's the end of the fourth quarter. When you're behind, a recount is a Hail Mary. The one who is behind has to gather votes."

That said it all. In essence, where you didn't have the votes you needed you had to create them by expanding the "universe of possible votes. Seek to examine all the ballots rejected by the machines because no vote registered, the "undervotes." All the paper ballots rejected because they weren't filled out precisely right – look at those, too. Ballots marked twice because they were confusing to some voters – the "overvotes" – look at those.

"You get 2,000 pitches, you get a better chance of having homers," Young said.

Essentially, what they had concluded in the very beginning was that they were fighting a losing battle they could win only by some very creative bookkeeping, by turning clearly uncountable votes into countable ones.

As the Post reported, "Flip a few pages ahead in the primer where it advises that the county election boards may never have done a recount before. 'Get there first, and become their friendly experts. Figure out the counting standards that will favor your candidate, then generously apply them to every vote, no matter what.' [end excerpt]

Full article below:

The Making of a Myth – The Creation of a Lie
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/10/21/175615.shtml
Phil Brennan - Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2003

A couple of weeks after the 2000 presidential election I was talking to a nurse in my doctor's office. The nurse, a very bright young black lady, told me that her vote had not been counted. I ask her how she knew that. "Oh, I know," she said, without revealing how she knew.

Not wanting to cruise on that sea of invincible ignorance, I let the subject drop. Her vote among the tens of thousands counted in Palm Beach County simply hadn't been counted. She knew that. That was it.

It was also the first hint I had that a monstrous lie was being propagated – a myth that would become a mainstay of Democrat propaganda just as the Herbert Hoover myth was dredged up in presidential campaigns for many years afterward. Democrats ran against Hoover, just as they are now running against the GOP and the U.S. Supreme Court for allegedly stealing the 2000 election from the sainted Al Gore.

You hear it at just about every gathering of disgruntled Democrats. Terry McAuliffe, the Dems' national chairman, can't open his mouth without charging that President Bush stole the election. In California he cited that claim as proof that when the Republicans can't win an election honestly, they steal it, as they were doing, he charged, in starting a recall movement to get rid of Gov. Gray Davis, who had been recently re-elected.

This from the head of a party that has been notorious for dealing in election frauds. In 1960 it was abundantly clear that fraud played a major part in the election of John F. Kennedy, especially in Illinois, where the late Mayor Richard Daley manipulated the results in Cook County to counter downstate Republican votes. After the 1960 election I was told by a South Carolina Democrat congressman: "You Republicans are going to have to learn that you have to win big. Otherwise we'll steal it from you."

That's what they tried in 2000, and when they failed, they began to cry foul and they haven't stopped since. They are outraged that they were not allowed to do what they do best: steal elections.

On Election Night, or rather the morning after, Gore and his crew realized that the results in Florida were neck and neck. Gore had already conceded in a phone call to Bush but one of his campaign aides, Michael Whouley, made a frantic call to campaign boss Bill Daley and told him, "This thing's going to automatic recount." That was the beginning.

Shortly afterward, Gore called Bush and recanted his earlier concession. A team was assembled to plot strategy for challenging Bush's unofficial narrow, almost-600 vote, victory.

By 6:30 a.m. 75 Gore operatives were on their way to Florida. Daley was pessimistic. He recalled for the Washington Post that he believed that if you recounted votes, both candidates would gain some and lose some, and ultimately nothing much would change.

He wasn't alone in that opinion. On the plane were three men, Timothy Downs, Chris Sautter and John Hardin Young, who had written the definitive book on recounts, "The Recount Primer." As the Washington Post reported in a remarkable and even-handed series on the aftermath of the 2000 election in Florida, "A Wild Ride Into Uncharted Territory," they tore pages from their book and copied them using two airborne fax machines.

What they said in their book was that "If a candidate is behind, the scope should be as broad as possible, and the rules should be different from those used election night." In other words, Young said, "It's the end of the fourth quarter. When you're behind, a recount is a Hail Mary. The one who is behind has to gather votes."

That said it all. In essence, where you didn't have the votes you needed you had to create them by expanding the "universe of possible votes. Seek to examine all the ballots rejected by the machines because no vote registered, the "undervotes." All the paper ballots rejected because they weren't filled out precisely right – look at those, too. Ballots marked twice because they were confusing to some voters – the "overvotes" – look at those.

"You get 2,000 pitches, you get a better chance of having homers," Young said.

Essentially, what they had concluded in the very beginning was that they were fighting a losing battle they could win only by some very creative bookkeeping, by turning clearly uncountable votes into countable ones.

As the Post reported, "Flip a few pages ahead in the primer where it advises that the county election boards may never have done a recount before. 'Get there first, and become their friendly experts. Figure out the counting standards that will favor your candidate, then generously apply them to every vote, no matter what.'

"That's why the Gore team swept down in such force so quickly, and why they hoped no one would notice."

A case in point was the Gore forces' dishonest attempt to use the infamous "butterfly ballot'" as proof of the GOP's election-rigging. The ballot, designed by Palm Beach County elections supervisor Theresa LePore, was intended to help the thousands of elderly voters who could not read the small type that was necessary because of the size of the ballot.

The Post explained that LePore chose a design "which placed the names on two facing pages, with the punch holes running down the center. Arrows pointed from the names to the holes – but when the ballot cards were fed into the voting machines, the holes didn't always line up with the arrows. Not that the arrows were entirely clear, either: The hole for a minor third-party candidate, Patrick J. Buchanan, was higher on the card than the hole for Al Gore.

"Thanks to the two wing-like pages, this would come to be known as the 'butterfly ballot.' LePore considered it a rather lovely solution to a difficult problem."

Despite the fact that the ballot had been shown before the election to the major party county chairmen and to campaign officials for every candidate and not one had objected, the Gore forces, aided by the media, charged that the ballot everybody had seen and approved of beforehand was now unfair.

Every attempt was made to count votes that clearly were not votes in the four heavily Democrat counties where Gore was challenging the results, and in the end, just as Daley had predicted, nothing had really changed. At this point the Gore forces tried to use the Florida courts to help them find votes where there weren't any.

In the end, the Democrat-controlled Florida Supreme Court decided to thwart the state's own election laws with a call for a statewide recount, which was later condemned by the court's own chief justice.

The Bush team argued that the Florida court had usurped the power of the state Legislature by fashioning new rules for counting and certifying the votes and that "the use of arbitrary, standardless, and selective manual recounts" violated the equal protection and due process clauses of the U.S. Constitution.

The hasty statewide recount ordered by the Florida Supreme Count was an invitation to sheer chaos. It would involve dozens of counties devising their own standards for discerning votes. By order of the court, for example, about 20 percent of the Miami-Dade ballots would be certified according to the county canvassing board's partial count, while the rest of the Miami undervotes were to be counted in Tallahassee by an entirely different group of judges with its own set of standards.

The U.S. Supreme Court slapped down the Florida Supreme Court's attempt to aid Gore to continue his fruitless search for votes in a chaotic statewide recount that set no standards for counting.

In a 7-to-2 per curiam ruling the Supreme Court refused to allow the recount to run to Dec. 18, when the presidential electors would meet to cast their votes, and ordered that it cease on Dec. 12, in accordance with Florida law. That did it.

The idea that the so-called conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court had unjustly handed the election to George Bush completely ignores the biased Florida Supreme Court rulings the high court struck down that would have violated Florida election law and, in the end, would not have given Gore a victory anyway, as private recounts have shown to be the case.

On Nov. 12, 2002, a group of major U.S. media organizations, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and CNN, released the results of a 10-month investigation into disputed votes cast in Florida during the 2000 presidential election.

Included in that group were such ultra-liberal media outlets as the Tribune Co. (owner of the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Orlando Sentinel), the St. Petersburg Times and the Palm Beach Post as well as the Associated Press. They based their conclusions on a review of 175,010 contested ballots conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), a nonprofit survey firm affiliated with the University of Chicago retained by the group.

Their report insisted that George Bush would have won the election in Florida by 493 votes even if the U.S. Supreme Court had not intervened to stop the statewide recount ordered by the Florida Supreme Court, and that Bush would have won by 225 votes if recounts had been completed in the four Florida counties where Gore sought them.

The media group stated that it was their conclusion that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling halting the statewide counting of disputed ballots did not determine the outcome of the presidential election.

Said the New York Times, no friend of Republicans or George Bush, "[T]he findings indicate that the Supreme Court didn’t steal the presidential election from Mr. Gore."

The most thorough analysis of the election in Florida was conducted by the nonpartisan Judicial Watch (JW) organization. JW reported that just three days after the election, on Nov. 7, 2000, they invoked Florida’s "Sunshine Laws" to get access to the presidential ballots. Following Judicial Watch’s lead, media organizations also sought access several weeks later. As the election results were being litigated by representatives of both the Democratic and Republican parties, Judicial Watch saw the need for an independent, nonpartisan analysis of the ballots at issue and the process used to count those ballots.

They hired the accounting firm of Johnson, Lambert & Co., a firm with expertise not only in the counting of ballots but also in the detection of fraud. They immediately found problems in some of the key counties, such as Palm Beach County, where they discovered discrepancies in the numbers produced by county officials, who simply could not reconcile the results of each of their counts in the days after the election. In Broward County, they discovered that county officials had changed standards as they recounted ballots, lost track of ballots and had no consistency in how they awarded votes to individual candidates.

It became clear that the canvassing boards in these counties simply lacked either the desire or the expertise necessary to conduct a trustworthy recount. Of primary importance is that, after analyzing 42,724 of the 62,605 ballots reported as undervotes in Florida, it is the stated view of the independent accounting firm that a statewide recount of the Florida undervotes would not have changed the outcome of the presidential election.

According to Judicial Watch, the auditors found that the counties’ procedures resulted in numbers that were unverifiable. For instance, in Palm Beach County, they learned that Palm Beach officials wrongly awarded at least 62 votes to Gore that should have gone to Bush. In Broward County, in the middle of the recount process, officials changed to a new, more liberal standard for adjudicating ballots. This change in standards in the middle of the recount may have worked to Gore’s benefit.

Judicial Watch noted that the simple act of recounting affected the characteristics of the voting cards, causing additional chads to fall off. As for the "dimple mystery," Judicial Watch used a sample voting machine and ballots from Broward County in an attempt to test how the observed dimples there were created. They could not recreate, using the machine, the types of dimples seen on many of the Broward County ballots. These unexplained dimples raise the specter that the dimples were created by someone other than voters.

Had the counting continued, Bush lawyer Ben Ginsberg said, "I think we would have stayed ahead. But the more arguing there was over ballots that were standardless, the messier it was and the more chaotic it was. That's really not how you want the presidency of the United States decided."

Wrote the Post, "The Supreme Court's decision to stay the counting prevented that possibility from developing."

The myth that the U.S. Supreme Court chose George W. Bush is a lie, provable by the facts noted above. The truth is that the Gore forces were stymied in an attempt some of them knew from the beginning would fail, as indeed it did. And for that, they will never forgive the Court or President Bush.

And that's the truth about the 2000 election.


* * * * * *
Phil Brennan is a veteran journalist who writes for NewsMax.com. He is editor and publisher of Wednesday on the Web (http://www.pvbr.com) and was Washington columnist for National Review magazine in the 1960s. He also served as a staff aide for the House Republican Policy Committee and helped handle the Washington public relations operation for the Alaska Statehood Committee, which won statehood for Alaska. He is also a trustee of the Lincoln Heritage Institute and a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers. He can be reached at phil@newsmax.com

Click on above link to read more on this subject in related Hot Topics: DNC / Presidential Race 2000
12 posted on 03/09/2004 6:11:34 AM PST by Matchett-PI (Why do America's enemies desperately want DemocRATS back in power?)
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To: skinkinthegrass
"Yes and Funny, too!...for ALL to see ... "printed / authorized by the National Democratic Party" ~ skinkinthegrass


See here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1093696/posts?page=12#12

BTTT
13 posted on 03/09/2004 6:16:49 AM PST by Matchett-PI (Why do America's enemies desperately want DemocRATS back in power?)
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To: kattracks
Oliphant, a Democrat

How did I guess this before I got to paragraph 4? I must be psychic!

14 posted on 03/09/2004 6:19:18 AM PST by cyncooper
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To: kattracks
"gross carelessness"?

Is that anything like "tardy lateness"?

Best regards,

15 posted on 03/09/2004 6:23:34 AM PST by Copernicus (A Constitutional Republic revolves around Sovereign Citizens, not citizens around government.)
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To: Elkiejg
Kerry said he was going to do pre-emptive injunctions. He must have the same book.

Turn out is KEY! We have to bury the Democrats with our numbers.

BTW this is another woman being convicted for arrogance. If she juest accepted and resigned no charges would be brought. She is suing the Governor for her job and fighting her removal. She could have easily survived to run another day.
16 posted on 03/09/2004 6:25:07 AM PST by longtermmemmory (Vote!)
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To: Matchett-PI
HA!HA!...THANKS...the wonders of FReepers/FreeRepublic... :))

BTTT

17 posted on 03/09/2004 6:36:27 AM PST by skinkinthegrass (Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get you :)
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To: Matchett-PI
For later.

Thanks,

L

18 posted on 03/09/2004 6:39:47 AM PST by Lurker (Don't bite the hand that meads you.)
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To: kattracks
Be prepared for more fiasco in Florida as the local news has been running clips about how easy it is on the new machines to go in on the computer and change the end totals! I also saw an ad on cable directed toward the MTV crowd to make sure they vote. The ad said something like "Think what a difference it would have made in the last election."
19 posted on 03/09/2004 7:25:05 AM PST by sheikdetailfeather
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To: CWOJackson; coloradan; Elkiejg; kattracks; skinkinthegrass; longtermmemmory; oldglory; ...
More in the "NEVER FORGET" catagory that belongs in this thread [Also see http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1093696/posts?page=12#12]:

DEMOCRAT MEMO ON HOW TO DISQUALIFY MILITARY VOTES: [snip]

I'll __highlight__ their "specific objective" in this effort to prevent the absentee military vote from being counted in Florida in these excerpts:

"Mark Herron, a Tallahassee lawyer helping shepherd Democratic presidential election lawsuits through the local courts, sent the five-page letter to Democratic attorneys across Florida giving them tips on how to ___lodge protests___ against the ballots __which heavily favored __ Republican George W.Bush.

Bush comfortably won Florida's overseas absentee vote by 1,380 votes to Vice-President Al Gore's 750 but, after ___vigorous challenges___ by Gore canvassers, 1,527 of the postal ballots, many of them from soldiers and sailors on active service, were rejected using __Herron's blueprint__.

Gen Norman Schwarzkopf led Republican condemnation of a five-page guide which advised Democratic tellers __how to raise objections__ to the postal votes."

Read the whole thing below:

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX SUN NOV 19, 2000 19:31:42 ET XXXXX
http://www.drudgereport.com/absent.htm

RELEASED: DEMOCRAT MEMO ON HOW TO DISQUALIFY MILITARY VOTES

**World Exclusive**

The DRUDGE REPORT has obtained -- and is now releasing worldwide -- a memo circulated to Democrats throughout Florida detailing how to disqualify overseas military ballots!

MORE

It's been talked about. It's been flashed on TV. But now only the DRUDGE REPORT can bring you the full text.

Mark Herron, a Tallahassee lawyer helping shepherd Democratic presidential election lawsuits through the local courts, sent the five-page letter to Democratic attorneys across Florida giving them tips on how to lodge protests against the ballots which heavily favored Republican George W. Bush.

Bush comfortably won Florida's overseas absentee vote by 1,380 votes to Vice-President Al Gore's 750 but, after vigorous challenges by Gore canvassers, 1,527 of the postal ballots, many of them from soldiers and sailors on active service, were rejected using Herron's bluprint.

Gen Norman Schwarzkopf led Republican condemnation of a five-page guide which advised Democratic tellers how to raise objections to the postal votes.

He said: "It is a very sad day in our country when the men and women of the armed forces are serving abroad and facing danger of a daily basis . . . and are denied the right to vote for the president of the United States who will be their commander in chief."

The 5-page memo as obtained by the DRUDGE REPORT:

Date: November 15, 2000
To: FDP Lawyer
From: Mark Herron
Subject: Overseas Absentee Ballot Review and Protest

State and Federal law provides for the counting of "absentee qualified electors overseas" ballots for 10 days after the day of the election or until November 17, 2000. Sections 101.62(7)(a), Florida Statutes defines as "absentee qualified elector overseas" to mean members of the Armed Forces while in the service, members of the merchant marine of the United States and other citizens of the United States, who are permanent residents of the states and are temporarily residing outside of the territories of the United States and the Districts of Columbia. These "absent qualified electors overseas" must also be qualified and registered as provided by law.

You are being asked to review these overseas absentee ballots to make a determination whether acceptance by the supervisor of elections and/or the county canvassing board is legal under Florida law. A challenge to these ballots must be made prior to the time that the ballot is removed from the mailing envelope. The specific statutory requirement for processing the canvass of an absentee ballot including of overseas absentee ballot, are set forth in Section 101.62(2) (c)2. Florida Statutes:

If any elector or candidate present believes that an absentee ballot is illegal due to a defect apparent on the voter's certificate, he or she may at anytime before the ballot is removed from the envelope, file with the canvassing board a protest against the canvcass of the ballot specifying the precinct, the ballot, and the reason he or she believes the ballot to be illegal. A cahllenge based upon a defect in the voterÕs certificate may not be accepted after the ballot has been removed from the mailing envelope.

The form of the voter's certificates on the absentee ballot is set forth in section 101.64(1), Florida Statutes. By statutory provisions, only overseas absentee ballots mailed with an APO, PPO, or foreign postmark shall be considered a ballot. See Section 101.62(7)(c). Florida Statutes.

In reviewing these ballots you should focus on the following:

1. Request for overseas ballots: Determine that the voter affirmatively requested an overseas ballot, and that the signature on the request for an overseas ballot matches the signature of the elector on the registration books to determine that the elector who requested the overseas ballot is the elector registered. See Section 101.62(4)(a), Florida Statutes.

2. The voter's signature: The ballot envelope must be signed by the voter. The signature of the elector as the voter's certificate should be compared with the signature of the elector of the signature on the registration books to determine that the elector who voted by ballot is the elector registered. See Section 101.68(c)x, Florida Statutes.

3. The ballot is properly witnessed: The absentee ballot envelope must be witnessed by a notary or an attesting witness over the age of eighteen years. You may note that these requirements vary from the statutory language from the Section 101.68(2)(c)1, Florida Statutes. Certain statutory requirements in that section were not proclaimed by the Justice Department pursuant to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, Sec. DE 98-13.

4. The ballot is postmarked: With respect to absentee ballots mailed by absolute qualified electors overseas only those ballots mailed with an APO, PPO, or foreign postmark shall be considered valid. See Section101.62(7)(c), Florida Statutes. This statutory provision varies from rule 15-2.013(7), Florida Administrative Code, which provides overseas absentee ballots may be accepted if "postmarked or signed and dated no later than the date of the federal election."

5. The elector has not already voted (duplicate ballot). In some instances, an absent qualified elector overseas may have received two absentee ballots and previously submitted another ballot. No elector is entitled to vote twice. (Please insert appropriate Fl. xxx.)

To assist your review, we have attached the following:

1. A review Federal Postal regulations relating to FPO's and PPO's.

2. A protest form to be completed with respect to each absentee ballot challenged.

3. Overseas Ballot Summary of Definitions.

Revised
Overseas Ballot Summary of Definitions

There are 3 different types of overseas ballots that are valid for return at the counties provided they are postmarked on or before November 7th.

1. Federal Write-In ballot

Must be an overseas voter and must be eligible to vote and be registered under State law.

Must have affirmatively requested an absentee ballot in writing and completely filled out request (including signature)

Must comply with State laws applying to regular absentee ballots (such as registration requirements, notification requirements, etc.)

Ballot contains only Federal races, and is considered to be a "backup" system if the regular state absentee ballot fails to arrive.

The intent of the voter in casting the ballot should govern. In other words, minor variations in spelling candidate or party names should be disregarded in ballot counting so long as the intention of the voter can be ascertained.

Must be postmarked as an APO, FPO, or MPO in a foreign country or at a foreign post office.

2. Florida Advance Ballot

Sent out in advance of a regular General Election ballot with state and Federal candidates listed.
Must be an overseas voter and must be eligible to vote and be registered under State law.

Must comply with State laws applying to regular absentee ballots (such as registration requirements, notarization requirements, etc.)

Must have affirmatively requested an absentee ballot in writing and completely filled out request (including signature)

Sent prior to the second (or October) primary elections to all permanent overseas registered voters.

Must comply with all State laws regarding signatures, witness requirements, etc.

Must be postmarked at the APO, FPO or MPO in a foreign country or at a foreign post office.

3. Regular Overseas Ballot

Sent after the second (or October) primary elections to all permanent overseas registered voters and voters requesting an overseas ballot from the county.

Must be an overseas voter and must be eligible to vote and be registered under State law.

Must comply with State laws applying to regular absentee ballots (such as registration requirements, notarization requirements, etc.)

Must have affirmatively requested an absentee ballot in writing and completely filled out request (including signature)

Full ballot with all candidates listed.

Likely would take precedence over any advance or federal ballot also returned.

Must comply with all State laws regarding signatures, witness requirements, etc.
Ballot is designed by the county.

Must be postmarked at an APO, FPO, or MPO in a foreign country or at a foreign post office.


Below are the definitions for points of origin and postmark that are valid for military overseas ballots:

1. APO (Army Post Office) -- A branch of the designated USPS civilian post office, which falls under the jurisdiction of the postmaster of either New York City or San Francisco, that serves either Army or Airforce personnel.

2. FPO (Fleet Post Office) -- A branch of the designated USPS civilian post office, which falls under the jurisdiction of the postmaster of either New York City or San Francisco, that serves Coast Guard, Navy, or Marine Corps personnel.

3. MPO (Military Post Office) -- A branch of a U.S. civil post office, operated by the Army, Navy, Airforce, or Marine Corps to serve military personnel overseas or aboard ships.

4. Military Post Office Cancellation -- A postmark that contains the post office name, state, ZIP Cope, and month, day, and year that the mail xxx was cancelled.

Protest of Overseas Absentee Ballot

As provided in Section 101.68(2)(c)(2), Florida Statutes. I, as an elector in __________ County, Florida, hereby protest against the canvass of the overseas absentee ballot described below:

County: ____________________________________________________

Precinct: __________________________________________________

The Ballot: ________________________________________________

Name of Voter: _____________________________________________

Address of Voter: __________________________________________

Reason for rejection: ______________________________________


___ Lack of voter signature

___ Lack of affirmative request for absentee ballot

___ Request for absentee ballot not fully filled out

___ Signature on absentee ballot request does not match signature on registration card or on ballot

___ Voter signature on envelope does not match signature on registration card

___ Inadequate witness certification

___ Late postmark (indicate date of actual postmark)

___ Domestic postmark (including Puerto Rico, Guam, etc.)

___ No postmark

___ Voter had previously voted in this election

___ Other

__________________________________

Signature of Person Filing Protest
__________________________________

Print Name

11/15/00


Filed By Matt Drudge
Reports are moved when circumstances warrant
http://www.drudgereport.com for updates
(c)DRUDGE REPORT 2000
20 posted on 03/09/2004 7:59:23 AM PST by Matchett-PI (Why do America's enemies desperately want DemocRATS back in power?)
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