Waves of scrutiny greet trickle of votes

By WAYNE WASHINGTON

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 14, 2000

TAMPA -- Ordinarily, these presidential votes coming in from places such as China and Japan and Germany wouldn't matter to anyone except those looking to print the final tally in history books.

But in Hillsborough County and the rest of Florida, history is still unfolding.

While the Gore and Bush camps wage their political and legal battles, overseas absentee ballots are trickling in.

On Wednesday, the day after Election Day, three arrived in Tampa. Nineteen more came Thursday.

On Monday, 35 came in the mail, but 12 of those will have to be examined by the county's canvassing board.

Special attention for 12 ballots in a state where 6-million were cast? Elections officials across the state expect that a question about a dozen ballots might well warrant a phone call from former Secretaries of State Warren Christopher or James Baker, the two distinguished men who have come to Florida to squeeze out every vote for their guy.

Hillsborough County Elections Supervisor Pam Iorio knows the value of 12 votes has mushroomed.

"One had a December postmark," Iorio said, explaining the scrutiny. "The machine at the post office it was sent from might not have been working correctly."

In all, Iorio expects 302 overseas ballots to arrive by Friday, when the overseas results will be announced.

Democrats requested 81 of those 302 ballots, Republicans asked for 121, and 100 went to those who did not list a party affiliation.

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