 Many
Overseas Ballots Rejected
Nov 17, 2000 10:52 PM
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) —
More than 1,100 overseas absentee ballots were thrown out Friday as Republicans
complained of a coordinated challenge by Democrats, particularly against
ballots from military personnel.
In some counties, half or nearly all of the ballots were rejected, many of
them military ballots that apparently didn't have postmarks.
Orange County, for example, rejected 117 of its 147 overseas ballots.
``The party of the man who wants to be the next commander-in-chief is trying
to throw out the votes of the men and women he will be commanding,'' charged
Jim Post, a Republican lawyer in Duval County, where 107 ballots were rejected.
``We had a lot of ballots with no postmarks so we had to declare them invalid,''
said Dick Carlberg, assistant elections supervisor in Duval County.
Overall, counties accepted nearly 1,500 overseas ballots.
Thomas Spencer, a Miami attorney for Bush, said the GOP legal team would
weigh whether to sue this weekend. "One of the problems with those ballots
is it is so difficult under Florida and federal law that you almost have
to be a rocket scientist to comply,'' he said.
Democrats dismissed the GOP suggestions of a coordinated campaign, noting
local election officials made the decisions. "Rushing to a hasty conclusion
and making partisan accusations is exactly what we don't need right now,''
Democratic National Committee spokeswoman Jenny Backus said.
Earlier this week, Mark Herron, a Tallahassee lawyer helping shepherd Democratic
presidential election lawsuits through the local courts, sent a five-page
letter to Democratic attorneys throughout Florida giving them tips on how
to lodge protests against overseas ballots.
Such protests must be lodged before the ballot is taken out of the envelope.
The letter focused on protesting military ballots, which are assumed to be
heavily in favor of Bush, and included a section on military postmarks.
Herron said in an interview his five-page letter "went to the folks we had
in the field that were out there monitoring absentee ballots, just like the
other side was out there. Our memo was intended to express the law of the
state of Florida as we understand it and provide direction and guidance to
the people who were in the field.
``I'm not the only one that did this,'' he added. ``Everybody got the opportunity
to argue their case in front of the canvassing boards.''
Republicans circulated a letter dated Friday from Navy Capt. E.M DuCom, deputy
director of the military postal service, who said military mail is required
to be postmarked. But he added, "There are instances when time constraints
do not allow for proper postmarking/cancellation of the mail. The last flight
may be departing the ship and the mail has to get on it.''
Ed Gillespie, a Republican strategist working for Bush in Florida, said 110
of 113 write-in ballots, mostly from military forces, were invalidated by
officials in Miami-Dade County. He said more than half were thrown out because
they had no witness or witness address listed but ``the form doesn't indicate
that a witness is necessary.''
With all but about a few counties reporting, Bush was leading Gore by more
than 700 votes, including overseas totals and those already certified by
the state, an Associated Press survey showed.
Counties have until noon Saturday to report their results to Secretary of
State Katherine Harris, who will not be able to certify the election until
after the Florida Supreme Court meets Monday to hear arguments about ongoing
hand recounts in South Florida.
But the latest battle was over overseas ballots.
``There are more attorneys than there are ballots,'' said Bob Edwards, Chairman
of the Republican Executive Committee for Walton County, where five votes
were tossed out.
More than three-quarters of Orange County's 147 overseas absentee ballots
were rejected by that county's canvassing board. Supervisor of Elections
Bill Cowles said he was shocked by that number but attributes the 117 rejections
to voters failing to keep their records current.
However, Republicans handed out an affidavit from the chief postal clerk
of the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy to counter Democratic challenges
to envelopes without postmarks.
``It is not unusual for mail being sent by naval personnel, whether embarked
on naval vessels or otherwise, not to have a postmark,'' Edgardo Rodriguez
said. |