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Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 6, 2000
Overseas ballots case heard
PENSACOLA -- Republican lawyers urged a federal judge on Tuesday to rule that hundreds of rejected overseas ballots, mostly from military personnel, should be counted in the state's contested presidential election.
The attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Lacey Collier to declare the ballots valid even if they are undated, lacked postmarks, were postmarked in the United States and were not requested on time or at all.
Such a decision would say what the judge thinks the law ought to be without directly ordering the ballots counted, said Republican lawyer Kenneth W. Sukhia. It could, however, be used to persuade county canvassing boards to accept disputed overseas ballots and set a precedent for future elections, he said.
"I for one have no problem with this entire thing being changed," testified Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections Pat Hollarn, a Republican and defendant in the lawsuit. Turning to Collier, she said "I hope you find a way for us to get out of this."
Ed Fleming, a Republican lawyer from Pensacola, estimated that about 600 rejected ballots received after the Nov. 7 election could be affected by the case. He was unsure how many ballots counted on Election Day also might be affected. Collier promised a prompt ruling.
Seven county canvassing boards initially were named as defendants, but those in Pasco and Walton counties were dropped after accepting all ballots at issue.
That left Okaloosa, Orange, Hillsborough, Polk and Collier counties. Okaloosa's board was represented by Mike Chesser and Hollarn was his only witness. The other counties submitted written responses.
WASHINGTON -- George W. Bush has raised twice as much money as Vice President Al Gore to pay for their Florida recount expenses, both campaigns reported Tuesday.
Bush has raised $7.4-million. Gore has taken in $3.5-million to pay his recount expenses. Both presidential candidates continue to raise money.
At least 73 contributors to Bush's recount committee also raised a minimum of $100,000 for the campaign, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan research group that studies campaign finance.
The list includes former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach; Roland Betts of the development firm Chelsea Piers Management, Bush's college roommate at Yale University and an overnight guest at the Texas governor's mansion; and Enron chairman Kenneth Lay. The energy giant and its employees have given more money to Bush over the years than any other company, according to the watchdog Center for Public Integrity.
In addition, several $5,000 donors have issues before the federal government, including:
MBNA America chairman Alfred Lerner. MBNA and its employees were the top givers to Bush's presidential campaign, contributing $234,425. MBNA, a major credit card company, supports efforts to make it harder for debtors to declare bankruptcy.
James Kimsey, chairman emeritus of America Online, awaiting federal approval to merge with Time Warner.
Lobbyist Jack Abramoff, whose firm represents Microsoft, being sued by the Justice Department.
"This is indicative of a lot of people who really, really believe Bush should be the president," said Holly Bailey, a researcher with the Center for Responsive Politics. "Who else to tap but the faithful donors who have been there all along? These faithful donors have business before Congress and have a stake in who's going to be moving into the White House."
The Bush campaign is posting the names of its contributors and their amounts on its Web site. It has limited donations to a maximum of $5,000.
The Gore committee plans to release its contributions later this month.