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The Palm Beach Post
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Recount Updates Certified Florida results show Bush leading Gore by 300 votes. Hand recounts still possible. • Post headlines • Humorous ballots • See the PBC ballot • WPB rally photos • Post your feedback • Vote in polls • NEWS 12 video
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--> Warning from state delays start of process
By Joel Engelhardt, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Despite warnings not to do it, the Palm Beach County canvassing board decided once again Tuesday to recount every ballot in the presidential race by hand, starting at 7 a.m. today. The arduous count was to have begun Tuesday morning, but an opinion from state elections officials spooked the board, causing it to send home 50 county workers poised to sift through ballots. At the end of a wasted day, the board cast aside the advice of its own lawyer and the stern warning from state election officials that they had no right to begin a hand count. "(By going ahead) what happens?" canvassing board member Carol Roberts demanded to know. "Do we go to jail? Because I'm willing to go to jail." With the nation's highest office at stake, the board voted 3-0 to side with Roberts. With Miami-Dade and Broward counties deciding against a countywide hand count, the presidential election could be decided by late overseas ballots and the Palm Beach County recount. Palm Beach County had made elaborate plans and mustered shifts of workers to begin the recount Tuesday. But the board held off because the state Division of Elections, under Republican Secretary of State Katherine Harris, claimed that the county had no authority to hand count all the ballots unless flaws were found in voting machines. Later Tuesday morning, the Attorney General's Office, under Democrat Bob Butterworth, said it could. By the end of a long fretful day, the canvassing board sent the Florida Supreme Court a petition asking that it decide between the dueling Cabinet members. The board expects the count of 462,657 ballots to take six days. Rather than lose time waiting for the Supreme Court to rule, it ordered the counting to start. "If we start and the Supreme Court tells us to stop that's what we have to do," said canvassing board Chairman Charles Burton. In a day punctuated by changing direction, the board took its case directly to the Supreme Court because it "has assumed statewide, and indeed national, significance . . . in an election in which the results literally hinge upon the outcome in Florida," the petition reads. Without a Supreme Court ruling, the canvassing board "will be subjected to further lawsuits; the state and federal courts of Florida will be inundated with further litigation; (and) the outcome of the general election will remain in doubt and subject to additional litigation." Board gets a boost The board's desire to hand count received a boost Tuesday afternoon when Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Jorge Labarga ruled that the county could conduct a manual ballot count. Labarga also lifted an injunction that threatened to stop the county from certifying its election results by 5 p.m. Tuesday, the state deadline. The county, following a Leon County Circuit Court ruling, certified its Saturday ballot recount but warned the secretary of state that the count could change. The board also agreed to send to Tallahassee the totals from a manual count of four precincts, in effect providing two separate vote totals for four of the county's 531 precincts. The hand count came up with 19 additional votes for Democrat Al Gore in precincts 6B, 162E, 193 and 193E. Gore carried the county by more than 116,000 votes. Since a hand count of the entire county is likely to turn up even more votes for the vice president, it could weigh heavily in reversing Republican George W. Bush's 300-vote lead. And harried canvassing board attorneys face another deadline today when they must tell Harris by 2 p.m. why they believe a manual count is justified. Tuesday night, Harris said she would wait for the county's explanation before deciding whether to certify any additional votes. Senior Assistant County Attorney Leon St. John said he was not sure whether the county would respond at all. "I don't think that would be an appropriate procedure," he said. But if he must, he'll rely on the same reasoning the board used in deciding to hold a manual recount, he said. The board originally ordered the hand count because it thought a sampling of four precincts -- 1 percent of the countywide vote -- suggested that a complete recount could change the outcome of the election. County Attorney Denise Dytrych advised against continuing with the hand count because she said the Division of Elections' opinion to halt the count carried the weight of law. Democrats were stung by the opinion, which arrived Monday night, before county officials received Butterworth's more detailed response. Butterworth wrote that he was forced to issue an opinion because the Division of Elections' document "is so clearly at variance with the existing Florida statutes and case law." Butterworth wrote that the law allows for a manual recount when the machine works correctly and some ballots still don't get counted properly. Democratic attorney Ben Kuehne likened the Division of Elections opinion to the civil rights era, when the executive branch of some governments was wielded to not only enforce the law but to defy it. Republican attorney Mark Wallace said the Division of Elections opinion confirmed what the GOP has been saying all along -- that a manual recount is improper. Surprise ruling But it was the Democrats who appeared hoodwinked Tuesday when the Division of Elections opinion stopped the manual count for an entire day before a single ballot had been touched. Roberts, a Democratic member of the canvassing board who has pushed hardest for the hand count, first brought up the idea of seeking an opinion on Monday, suggesting that it come from Butterworth. But moments later, during the same Monday morning canvassing board meeting, Republican Party lawyer J. Reeve Bright of Delray Beach suggested the Division of Elections be consulted as well. There were no objections from the Democrats. Burton, a county court judge, agreed to seek opinions from both agencies. But the requests didn't go out until after 5 p.m. Monday. Dytrych blamed her trip to Miami to fight a federal court injunction sought by the Bush camp. And the first response, sent by fax machine at 8:06 p.m. Monday, came from the Division of Elections. When confronted with just that opinion Tuesday morning, Dytrych told the canvassing board that it was not just advice -- it was binding under state law. That surprised Roberts. "I never would have agreed (to send the opinion) had I been told it was binding because I believe we in Palm Beach County ought to be making that decision," Roberts said. She urged the canvassing board to ignore the opinion. "The secretary of state is saying too bad, even though they're marked wrong you can't count the votes of the people of Palm Beach County," she said. But that's not true, Burton said. "The votes have been counted three times," he said, referring to machine counts on Election Day and twice since. With its lawyer saying it had to accept the opinion, the canvassing board voted 2-1, with Roberts dissenting, to halt the planned start of the manual count. Anticipating a conflicting opinion from Butterworth, the board told the county attorney's office to take the question before a judge. Butterworth's opinion arrived at 9:17 a.m., about an hour after the canvassing board voted. Staff Writers Robert P. King and Noah Bierman contributed to this story.
joel_engelhardt@pbpost.com
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For a woman who enjoys sucking up the tax dollars, I'm not suprised she wants to go to jail to get her 3 square meals and cable TV.
Instead I suggest you hit her where it hurts - she and her fellow board members should pay the costs for their frivolous recount and it must come from their pockets. The way they don't even blink at spending their taxpayer's money is very telling!
"(By going ahead) what happens?" canvassing board member Carol Roberts demanded to know. "Do we go to jail? Because I'm willing to go to jail."
Don't that just say it all folks. In other words, the laws be damned, Al Gore must be elected no matter how many laws we have to break. Maybe she will get her wish. If things work out she can share a cell with Bill, Bill, and Al.
lets hope so ~
Click on this Garner cartoon and go to: On the Bench for Gore? - Florida's Supreme Court has a reputation for liberal activism ~ John Fund
.
OH YEAH>>>
Carol Roberts is a shameless hack of the highest order. I would give
anything to eavesdrop on the phone conversations she's had with Bill Daley and
other DNC thugs. They tell her what to do and she does it.
Cost of the hand recount in Palm Beach County might run $50,000- $100,000. Let them squander their money.
Many a city have a "Carol Roberts" working for the Democratic Party. They are the trench fighting lizard skinned wenches that will do anything to haul in a DemoVictory. Al Gore lost the vote and the recount. The hiring of a telemarketing firm to scare the voters about making a choice made the nation focus eyes on the ballot and others instead of the inept shrew and her posse. She lost the vote for Gore and is struggling mightily to rectify her loss. She is the heroine right now. She is taking the flak for Gore while the ballots are handles and manipulated for Al Gore. This type of woman does not care about America. She cares about power.
"(By going ahead) what happens?" canvassing board member Carol Roberts demanded to know. "Do we go to jail? Because I'm willing to go to jail."
No, Carol, what happens is you continue to trample on the rule of law, turn this election process into a joke, and make your party look like the fools and outlaws they are. That's what happens.
When confronted with just that opinion Tuesday morning, Dytrych told the canvassing board that it was not just advice -- it was binding under state law.
That surprised Roberts.
"I never would have agreed (to send the opinion) had I been told it was binding because I believe we in Palm Beach County ought to be making that decision," Roberts said.
They are so shameless, it sickens me. She just comes right out and says, in effect, "I don't care what the law says, I think I can do whatever I want." It is so clear that they are gaming this thing -- "we won't ask for an opinion unless we know what the answer will be" and "we are only going to count votes where we know it will increase our total" and yet no one seems to care. There ought to be a Congressional investigation into major media bias after this thing shakes out.
I read in the Palm Beach Post, about 2 days ago, that it had already cost $100,000.
But...does she have a blue dress? Where is Matt?
Talk about a suck-up.
EEEWWW! I didn't say that. I changed keyboards and this one is positively livid!!!! I can't control it.
Imagine that. gore's susan mcdougal.
Heard her say that on C-Span rerun and was a loud cheer from the dumbercrats. Wonder their intent?
This recounting business is no is leading to an anarchy of the election process. Never again will voters be able to go into the voting booth with the confidence that they have voted for their man or woman.
If one side doesn't like the results all they have to do is call for recount after recount, turn the process over to a handful of party hacks, and let them divine you original intent. If they don’t like those results tied them up in the courts and let Judges decided who the victors are. That is not Democracy at work. It is not the will of the people. It is the will of the party hacks.
She is power hungry for sure. So intoxicated by power that she ran roughshod in the 2AM meeting a few days ago to approve the county wide hand recount.
I know if AlGore wins she will get anything she wants in the way of Federal money for PB County. Then she can rule PB County forever.
Then a county wide hand recount will cost $500,000 on up. One reason Broward and Miami/Dade are not doing a recount (unless forced to by the DNC) is due to the expenses. No one pays the county for racking up these million dollar bills for hand re-counting their county.
That's why we have vote tabulation machines. Much cheaper.......Duh!
Let's look at Carol Roberts as a physical speciman of liberalism. To the trained eye they can be spotted rather easily. Smug? Sure. Condescending? Of course. Does she have that world weary look of having to carry lesser mortals on her back? Of course she does. A sneer? Permanent. We could go on here, and maybe we should.
And I'm willing to send her there!
It seems to me that they need to recount ALL of the ballots in Palm Beach County, or none of the revised numbers should count. If they stop without looking at every single ballot, who's to say that the ones they didn't count wouldn't have been for Bush?
CAROL ROBERTS SAYS: "I'M WILLING TO GO TO JAIL"
Good. Put her in the Gulag that she and her socialist friends would secretly love to construct.
Regards, Ivan
We could go on here,...
By all means, please go on, you're doing great.
She would look great confined.
CAROL ROBERTS SAYS: "I'M WILLING TO GO TO JAIL"
Translation:
I've already committed so much vote fraud that a Gore win is the only way I can possibly stay OUT of jail!
Maybe it is high time the citizens of Florida took matters into their own hands. Arrest the witch and put her, and the rest of the outsider demoncrats, in a jail of their own making. Try her and them and, if convicted, decorate a tree.
She will never go to jail. A night in the Lincoln bedroom is a distinct possibility, though. And, maybe, the opportunity to be a REAL whore for Clinton...
Roberts is yet another ideal example of liberal Democratic walking, talking excrement. I positively despise people like her.
Several days ago, there were a number of posts about an NBC interview with a Palm Beach precinct worker who said that the election supervisor instructor her to tell voters to punch number five for Gore. She also mentioned passing out cards showing the "appropriate votes" at the precinct.
Despite searches, I can't find it.
Can anyone direct me to one of these posts?
I didn't see that, maybe some else knows about it.
The experience of associating with those liberals in jail would influence the criminals in a negative way-and could amount to cruel and inhumane treatment charges by the inmates.
Plus Bob Butterworthis Gore's Florida Cmpaign Mgr......and a CREEP! Well, he's a DEMOCRAT....guess "Creep" is redundant!
And I'm willing to lock the door and throw away the key.
Try her and them and, if convicted, decorate a tree.
Not my idea of "decoration" but otherwise not a bad idea.
The left wing Florida Supreme Court ruled that a proposed Florida Constitutional Amendment to eliminate affirmative action could not appear on the ballot. It would be unfortunate if these Bozos end up in a position to decide the election.
Send her to the slam. Tyrone probably needs a new White ho'.
prambo
If this farce won't stop, I suggest that all Americans vote on the PB ballots. Hold each of the 400K+ ballots up to the TV screen for 2 minutes and then do an Internet vote on each. This should take about 8 years after which President Hastert can retire after concluding a successful presidency.
If she says she'll go to jail then I say throw her ass in there and be done with that loud mouth! One down and many to go.
There was a new book for Florida voters that might explain all the problems. You all might want to check it out!
Click here to view!
At that meeting yesterday, Roberts chose to ignore the advice of the County Atty. Dytrych who was seated to her right.
Dytrych stated CLEARLY that the Division of Elections opinion to halt the count carried the weight of law.
At the time of the vote I noted that Dytrych,also CLEARLY stated she would not vote with Roberts et al as they agreed to proceed with the count in the AM.
I hope Dytrych has that on tape and in the MINUTES of the proceedings.
FLORIDA'S GORE "KINGMAKER", CAROL ROBERTS, IS A RED CHINA-PHILE
I was trying to circumvent an accusation of inciting violence. If these fools don't stop pushing, I'm afraid there are going to be many trees groaning under the weight of decorations.
Now I got you, but hanging's too good for 'em.
She will go to jail as a FELON for ballot tampering.
A reporter on MSNBC just held up a document that apparently was filed in court claiming that Roberts was destroying Bush ballots, changing Bush ballots, and switching Bush ballots. Forest Gump I mean Sawyer said "these are serious charges indeed".
The most certainly are and if there is any justice is this country any more, then the hag will get her deserved time in the Florida version of Sing-Sing.
That's where she belongs.
Robert's brother, Sandy Klein, has already done some jail time. This was several years ago (I was living in PB County at the time) and if I remember correctly it was for a big scam and fraud...maybe even attempted murder for hire. Perhaps somebody from the area remembers this.
That's her over there officer, lock her up !!!
Interesting isn't it - the same people who are delirious about counting pregnant chads a a full vote, adamantly deny that a pregnant woman is carrying a human being...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
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