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By Compiled by Times staff writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 16, 2000
Excerpts of the various letters sent Wednesday by county elections officials to Secretary of State Katherine Harris to explain the facts and circumstances that would necessitate a change to be made in the final certification of the statewide vote and portions of the responses she made to them.
The Palm Beach county Canvassing Board has conducted a machine recount of the ballots and a limited manual recount of 1 percent of the total votes cast in accordance with . . . Florida Statutes. The limited manual recount produced different results than the machine recount. The machine recorded approximately 10,000 undervotes. As stated in the Canvassing Board's Petition For Extraordinary Writ, it elected to conduct a manual recount "(b)ecause the results could affect the outcome of the election." . . . On Sunday, November 12, 2000, the Canvassing Board voted to conduct a manual recount of all the ballots cast in Palm Beach County for the offices of President and Vice President pursuant to the authority granted to it under . . . Florida Statutes. As you are aware, the Canvassing Board also voted to seek advisory opinions from the Division of Elections and the Attorney General regarding the proper interpretation of . . . Florida Statutes. The opinions were conflicting; accordingly, the Canvassing Board is currently seeking an adjudication by the Florida Supreme Court to resolve the conflicting opinions on the question of whether the Canvassing Board may, under the above-referenced circumstances, conduct a manual recount of the votes cast for President and Vice President. The Canvassing Board has voted to suspend its manual recount pending the resolution of this issue and other issues by the Florida Supreme Court.
The Board has not alleged any facts or circumstances that suggest the existence of voter fraud. The Board has not alleged any facts or circumstances that suggest that there has been substantial noncompliance with the state's statutory election procedures, coupled with reasonable doubt as to whether the certified results expressed the will of the voters. The Board has not alleged any facts or circumstances that suggest that Palm Beach County has been unable to comply with its election duties due to an act of God, or other extenuating circumstances that are beyond its control. The Board has alleged the possibility that the results of the manual recount could affect the outcome of the election if certain results obtain. However, absent an assertion that there has been substantial noncompliance with the law, I do not believe that the possibility of affecting the outcome of the election is enough to justify ignoring the statutory deadline. Furthermore, I find that the facts and circumstances alleged, standing alone, do not rise to the level of extenuating circumstances that justify a decision on my part to ignore the statutory deadline imposed by the Florida Legislature.
The Board has concluded that the limited manual recount to date indicates an error in the vote tabulation which could affect the outcome of the election, requiring a manual recount of all ballots. The Board states the following additional facts and circumstances that justify an amended certification:
1. Extremely large voter turnout, and the resulting ballots cast, dramatically increased the time required for the initial tabulation.
2. This Board, representing voters in the second largest county in Florida, needs additional time to complete all necessary tabulation, and should be afforded more time than boards representing voters in less-populated counties.
3. The large number of ballots has created additional logistical problems, requiring that ballots be moved to an alternate location for further tabulation. The Supervisor's location can accommodate a very limited number of counting teams.
4. The Board has encountered significant periods of delay, including: (numerous lawsuits; conflicting opinions by the attorney general and the secretary of state; a board member being out of town; the Veterans Day holiday; and the requirement to conduct an automatic recount prior to determining the necessity of a full manual recount.)
The Board has not alleged any facts or circumstances that suggest the existence of voter fraud. The Board has not alleged facts or circumstances that suggest that there has been substantial noncompliance with the state's statutory election procedures. The Board has not alleged any facts or circumstances that suggest that Broward County has been unable to comply with its election duties due to an act of God, or other extenuating circumstances that are beyond its control. The Board has alleged large voter turnout and logistical problems associated with that turnout. However, Broward County is a large county and high voter turnout was not unexpected. The Board also has alleged delay in the certification process associated with litigation, a family holiday by the Supervisor of Elections, and the Veterans Day holiday. However, I find that these circumstances, standing alone, do not rise to the level of extenuating circumstances that justify a decision on my part to ignore the statutory deadline imposed by the Florida Legislature.
The Miami-Dade Canvassing Board exercised its discretion and unanimously voted to conduct a manual recount of three precincts selected by the requesting party comprising 1 percent of the vote as provided for pursuant to Florida Statute 102.166.
The Miami-Dade County Canvassing Board urges you to accept the Supplemental Certificate of Results for the Office of President of the United States. These supplemental votes are a result of the Canvassing Board's decision to hand count three precincts. The manual recount of the three precincts was completed at approximately 8 p.m. on November 14, 2000. The Supplemental Certificate of Results will be faxed to the Division of Elections prior to 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 15, 2000 and an original certification will be sent to the Division of Elections such that it will be received by that office on November 16, 2000.
The Miami-Dade County Canvassing Board believes it is imperative that the votes for the Office of President of the United States contained in the Supplemental Certificate of Results be added to the vote totals of the Boards Certificate of Results dated November 9, 2000.
The board has not alleged any facts or circumstances that suggest the existence of voter fraud. The Board has not alleged any facts or circumstances that suggest that there has been substantial noncompliance with the state's statutory election procedures, coupled with reasonable doubt as to whether the certified results expressed the will of the voters. The board has not alleged any facts or circumstances that suggest that Miami-Dade County has been unable to comply with its election duties due to an act of God or other extenuating circumstances that are beyond its control.
On November 14, 2000, as Collier County Supervisor of Elections Employees were preparing the ballot envelopes of this November 7, 2000, General Election for storage, we performed a post election audit of all envelopes to confirm all envelopes were empty. During this audit, we found 24 ballots had not been removed from the envelope in which they were received, although accepted and opened prior to the election, but were not counted. These 24 ballots represent a cross-section of voters of several political parties upon review of the unopened ballot envelopes.
An additional ballot was received October 18, 2000, and accepted. Upon opening, it was ascertained to be a ballot card for the first primary election. Upon further investigation of this ballot, it was determined that the voter had voted for the general election using a first primary ballot card.
We provide this for your information; we are not requesting a manual recount of ballots for this recent General Election. We do inquire if the Canvassing Board of Collier County Florida may provide an amended recount certification of Collier's ballots by merely adding these inadvertently omitted absentee ballots to the total ballot counts already certified and provided.
If this amended recount is approved, the count of these 25 ballots will take place on Friday, November 17, 2000, at 2 p.m. . . .
The board has not alleged any facts or circumstances that suggest the existence of voter fraud. The Board has not alleged any facts or circumstances that suggest that there has been substantial noncompliance with the state's statutory election procedures, coupled with reasonable doubt as to whether the certified results expressed the will of the voters. The board has not alleged any facts or circumstances that suggest that Collier County has been unable to comply with its election duties due to an act of God or other extenuating circumstances that are beyond its control. Rather, the Board has alleged that 25 ballots were mistakenly not counted. I find that these circumstances, standing alone, do not rise to the level of extenuating circumstances that justify a decision on my part to ignore the statutory deadline imposed by the Florida Legislature."