Theresa LePore has borne criticism since the butterfly ballots of 2000. She wants to keep her job and pull off a flawless presidential contest.
By TAMARA LUSH
Published June 1, 2004
Theresa LePore
WEST PALM BEACH - Theresa LePore's eyes are bloodshot - "red, white and blue eyes," she jokes - because she has been at her office since 4:45 a.m.
It's election day, a tiny runoff contest in small-town Pahokee, but election day nonetheless. As Palm Beach County's supervisor of elections, LePore is responsible for ensuring the day goes smoothly.
The 49-year-old West Palm Beach native was once a national symbol of election problems. She designed the infamous Palm Beach butterfly ballot of the 2000 presidential election, and she presided over the county's recount until the statewide effort was stopped by the U.S. Supreme Court.
That election cost her friends and political allies. LaPore became a scapegoat and the subject of national ridicule.
Jay Leno and David Letterman made fun of her. Republicans were angry. Democrats were angrier. Voters predicted her demise.
Yet LePore has survived it all. She left the Democratic Party and is running for a third term with no party affiliation. (The office is now officially nonpartisan.) Even critics say she is a formidable candidate.
"I love my job," LaPore said. "That's the main reason."
She had no opponents in 2000. This year, she has three.
A member of Congress who used to be her friend sued her and is backing an opponent. Democrats are aggressively campaigning against her.
LePore just wants to do her job and show the world she can pull off a perfect presidential election.
"There's some part of her that's saying, "I'm going to show them we can get it done and get it done well,' " said Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Kurt Browning, a friend of LePore's. "She's determined."
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The eldest of eight children, LePore was still in high school when she went to work as a file clerk in the Palm Beach County Elections office. It was 1971. She never left.
In 1996, after rising to the number two position in the office, LaPore ran for the top job. Editorial writers praised her "fairness and impartiality." Once she was elected, the honeymoon between LePore and the public lasted four years.
Until Nov. 7, 2000.
LePore had designed a new ballot for the presidential election. Called a "butterfly ballot," it was LePore's attempt to get a lengthy list of presidential candidates on facing pages so voters would not have to turn a page.
The idea was to make it easier on elderly voters - nearly 25 percent of the county's residents are older than 65 - and to avoid the smaller print it would have required to list all of the candidates on a single page. Arrows pointed to where voters were supposed to punch the corresponding hole.
But voters had problems. They punched more than one hole. They didn't punch holes all the way through.
Chad became a household word. LePore was referred to as "Madame Butterfly."
Lawsuits were filed. Death threats issued.
The ordeal wasn't over.
LePore and two other members of the election canvassing board spent 10 days recounting the votes. She barely slept or ate, subsisting on soft drinks. She lost 22 pounds.
The recount ended up not counting. The U.S. Supreme Court stopped the recount and handed the election to George W. Bush by 537 votes.
People blamed LePore. Jackie Winchester, her former boss, questioned her judgment. Fellow Democrats accused her of handing the election to Bush.
"Both parties were trying to get me to do things," LaPore said. "To me, the right thing was doing my job. I think I treated everybody equally."
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A lot has changed since 2000 at LaPore's office. Touch screen voting machines replaced paper ballots. New poll workers are being trained constantly. And the office moved into a new building.
On the day of the Pahokee election, LePore emerges smiling from a back office.
She anticipates no problems in Pahokee. But she knows any misstep puts her back on the front pages and on TV news.
"I'm anxious any time there is an election," she said. "Any supervisor that tells you they are not worried about an election is not necessarily telling you the truth."
LePore is quick to talk about how she has traveled throughout the county to register voters and teach them to use touch screen machines.
"One thing I learned from the 2000 election was that you can't assume people know stuff," she said.
Her efforts have taken her to condo associations, senior centers and chili cookoffs. She once toted the touch screens at a biker picnic.
"By now," she said, "everyone ought to know how to use them."
* * *
Now LePore is being criticized for her chosen fix for the system that was so flawed in 2000.
The touch screen machines don't provide a paper trail. U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, sued to force a paper trail from LePore and other supervisors who use the computers; a federal judge dismissed the suit May 24.
"Ms. LePore has . . . taken the position that touch screen machines are infallible," Wexler said. "The last time we heard a machine was infallible was before the Titanic set sail."
LePore suspects another motive behind Wexler's lawsuit: He is is campaigning for one of her opponents, former Palm Beach County School Board member Arthur Anderson.
Another Democrat also is running, activist Ellie Whittey. Glenn MacLean, an engineer, is running without party affiliation like LePore.
With about $40,000 in campaign contributions, LePore has raised more money than all of her opponents combined.
LePore's critics concede she will be tough to unseat.
"She's been in the job a long time," said Joan Joseph, a Palm Beach County Democratic activist. "But most of the people I know and speak with absolutely do not like the job she's done."
Joseph and other Democrats contend that LePore is supported by Republican money.
Republicans say they have donated to LePore's campaign but have not endorsed her. No Republicans are running.
"I think she's going to win," said Jack Furnari, a GOP strategist from Palm Beach. "I don't think the criticism of her is fair at all."
LePore doesn't mind criticism, but she hates the publicity and rumors.
One Internet conspiracy theory claims that LePore was a stewardess for Saudi weapons dealer Adnan Khashoggi, and his support of Bush may have spurred LePore to deny Gore the presidency.
As a young clerk in the elections office, LePore moonlighted as a ramp attendant at the Palm Beach airport. She became friends with Khashoggi's pilots and took a couple of trips with them.
LePore said she was a tomboy when she was a girl. Those days are gone. A tall blond, she wears lots of gold rings, blue eye shadow and, always, a cross around her neck. She loves to shop and wrap presents for people.
Friends describe her as shy, and LePore says a perfect day would be to read a romance novel and relax at the beach - something she never gets to do.
It takes her three hours to get through the grocery store because people want to talk.
"I don't feel I'm as free to go out and do things that I used to do," she said.
* * *
If LePore doesn't want to be recognized, she could drive an hour west to Pahokee. Many of the voters casting ballots there in the special runoff election don't know who she is, much less have an opinion about how she handled ballots, recounts or touch screen machines.
"Those touch screens are much easier and much better, more simplified," said Sharon Jackson, a Pahokee voter. "I really don't know who Theresa LePore is, though."
LePore is tired of the 2000 election. She is looking ahead to November.
"I have determination. It's the Italian in me," she said with a smile. "I'm not going to let anyone beat me down."
