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ELECTION 2000, Day 12
Floridian in Jerusalem
received 2 ballots
'There's no way to know whether
someone really did vote twice'
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By Jon E. Dougherty
© 2000 WorldNetDaily.com
A Floridian living in Jerusalem says he received two absentee ballots this year, and he questioned how many others may have also been sent more than one.
According to the daily Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, Paul Chamberlain, a 25-year-old native of Ocala, Fla., said that about two months ago he received an absentee ballot listing three presidential candidates.
Chamberlain, who voted for Democratic nominee Al Gore, then said he received a second ballot with 10 presidential choices. He told the Israeli newspaper he set that one aside, but wondered aloud how many other Americans living in Israel received more than one -- and then used both to cast ballots for one candidate or to change a vote from one candidate to the other.
"I thought that maybe they hadn't received my other ballot and that's why they sent this one, so I had my mother [in Florida] call and confirm they received it, and they did," he told the newspaper.
"There's no place for an ID number or a signature on the ballot itself -- on either of the ones that I got," Chamberlain said. "My name was only on the envelope, so there's no way to know whether someone really did vote twice" or if they received two ballots or more.
In another oddity, Chamberlain said that despite U.S. reports that overseas ballots had to be in Florida counties by 5 p.m. yesterday, his ballot said it must be received by the home office by 7 p.m. on the day of the election.
Though critics have not suggested foul play by Democrats in Florida, they have pointed out the irony of Gore supporters in Israel receiving two ballots, while many military service members thought to support Texas Gov. George W. Bush haven't received even one.
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ELECTION 2000, Day 12
Tarawa sailor disputes
Navy ballot count
Challenges official's claim that
only 'half dozen' absentees left on ship
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By Jon E. Dougherty
© 2000 WorldNetDaily.com
A sailor aboard the assault ship USS Tarawa has said the Navy's claim that only a half dozen ballots were contained in a number of mailbags recently retrieved from the ship and flown to the U.S. from the Middle East is incorrect.
According to Judy Krutsinger, whose brother-in-law is aboard the Tarawa and had contacted her about the numerical discrepancy, "basically he is stating that the Navy's statement about the number of ballots is wrong."
In an e-mail, Krutsinger said her brother-in-law told her, "for them [Navy officials] to say there were only a half dozen [absentee ballots] on the ship is just wrong."
After WorldNetDaily broke the story about mail languishing aboard the specialized amphibious operations warship, Navy officials admitted that "bundles" of mail bags had been left behind on the Tarawa and other warships -- the USS Duluth and the USS Anchorage -- but that the mail only contained about six ballots.
After passing that information to Krutsinger, she in turn contacted her sailor brother-in-law, who responded late Thursday evening.
While the Navy has said only that there have been minor and periodic interruptions of mail to the Tarawa and other warships that assisted in evacuating wounded and emergency operations when the destroyer USS Cole was attacked by terrorists Oct. 12, sailors -- and at least one Marine Corps officer -- have told WND that the problem of mail delivery aboard the Tarawa is bad and chronic.
"It's atrocious," the officer said in an e-mail, noting that often the ship goes "several days without receiving mail, even in relatively 'friendly' areas."
Though mail delivery seems bad enough, the Tarawa sailor also said he was aware of "several people who got their [absentee] ballot on the day they were due," Krutsinger said. "He said the problem is widespread on [the Tarawa]," making him the second sailor -- besides the Marine officer -- to make that claim in a week regarding the same vessel.
Pentagon and Navy officials have repeatedly denied there is a mail delivery problem regarding the Tarawa and other warships but, instead, have said that due to operational requirements and other extenuating circumstances, mail is interrupted only infrequently and even then not for very long.
Based on conversations with other Tarawa sailors, Krutsinger said her brother-in-law told her "there were more than [just six] ballots" on the ship before Navy officials flew mail out on Wednesday, sending it to Bahrain before being flown on to the United States -- hopefully in time to be counted before state absentee balloting deadlines, especially in Florida.
Other military ballot problems reported this week:
A military chaplain based at Ft. Stewart, Ga., reported problems getting his ballot. "Had my 79-year-old mother not driven the 30+ miles to the county seat and badgered the elections people, I still may not have gotten it. She overnight expressed it and then it went back overnight express to meet the deadline." He added, "I am not the only one at Ft. Stewart who had trouble with absentee ballots."
An Army officer stationed in Bosnia said he requested a ballot three months before the election from San Diego but, just days before the election, he received one from Key West, Fla., instead. He said he didn't vote because he has never lived in Florida and that only about half his soldiers (about 100 out of 200) received their ballots.
An Air Force officer affiliated with that branch's voting program said that about three weeks before the election he began receiving calls from military members "and voting officers" who complained that "many Air Force personnel had not received their ballots." The serviceman added that "many had requested ballots in June and July of this year." He estimated that perhaps as many as 20 percent of all military personnel may not have received ballots this year.
One Marine complained he has been overseas during the past two general elections and, though he applied through proper channels, has been "unable to vote since I've been on active duty." He added: "It is ironic that the people that are actively fighting for freedom and the United States are the same people that are routinely subjected to the worst lifestyle and deprived of some of their most basic rights."
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Problems Arise With Florida Overseas Votes
Election: Officials know there is no margin for error in judging validity of crucial absentee votes.
By MEGAN GARVEY and SCOTT MARTELLE, Times Staff Writers
Like everything else in the contentious Florida vote count, problems already are cropping up with the crucial overseas ballots that remain to be tallied.
In Orange County--home to Orlando and Walt Disney World--65 votes are on hand from people who didn't request an absentee ballot from the county.
Are these simple clerical errors? Misrouted ballots intended for a different county? Attempts at voter fraud? Or none of the above?
Such are the questions swirling around a process that is usually an electoral footnote. And with counties facing a noon EST Saturday deadline to report on the more than 2,700 absentee ballots that are in hand but uncounted, officials are bracing for more controversy.
"Usually for this 10-day count, we're like the Maytag repairman," said Fred Galey, election supervisor in Brevard County. "This time, who knows who will be there? I'm sure we're going to have lawyers from both sides. And I'm sure we'll have TV cameras."
Margaret Dunn, who works in the election supervisors' office in Orange County, summed up the challenges officials face as they untangle complicated questions, such as how her county ended up with those 65 ballots.
"Everything's so screwed up," she said.
Under Florida law, an absentee ballot must be returned to the county where the initial request was made--either by the voter himself or through an immediate family member. Dunn said that what to do with the 65 questionable ballots, which make up the vast bulk of the 83 ballots returned to Orange County since election day, will likely be left up to the local canvassing board.
While legal fights continue over whether to include the results of ongoing hand recounts in Florida's final election results, there is no question that the overseas absentee ballots will be counted. But how many of these ballots will be judged valid is another matter.
With a slim 300 votes separating Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore, virtually everyone handling the uncounted ballots understands that there is no margin for error.
From Duval County in the north to Miami-Dade County in the south, the as-yet uncounted ballots--with an additional 5,600 that were mailed out but still not returned--are being held under lock and key, conferred the status of state secrets by many harried election workers charged with their safekeeping.
"I have taken extra precautions in mail room sorting," said Ann Mau, supervisor of elections in Hernando County, on the Gulf Coast just north of Tampa. "I make sure it is done expeditiously. As soon as they get the mail in, they go through it and bring to me in my department any absentee ballots."
Then she locks them up.
Hand counts of the overseas votes are scheduled to begin as early as 2 p.m. EST today in the various jurisdictions.
Officials Can't Say How Many Ballots Are Valid
Right now, Florida election workers say it's hard to say how many of the ballots will be judged valid, opened and counted toward the final Florida vote total.
Overseas absentee ballots must adhere to state guidelines, they say. They must be postmarked by Nov. 7, signed and witnessed, and the voter's signature must match the one kept on file by the county supervisor of elections.
Voter Fraud Report Set Different Rules
Those requirements, however, are not as stringent as those recommended in a 1998 report on voter fraud issued by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The report was completed in the wake of the 1997 Miami mayoral election that was overturned because of rampant absentee voting fraud.
The study said such election fraud is a danger to "the integrity of our democracy in all elections." It recommended stricter procedures for distributing absentee ballots and a reinstatement of an old Florida law that required all absentee ballots to have two or more witnesses or be notarized.
Much speculation remains as to which way the overseas votes will go. Of more than 23,000 ballots mailed to voters outside the United States, 13,830 came back in time to be counted on election day.
A breakdown of all absentee votes--nearly 350,000 stateside and overseas--cast by election day shows a Bush advantage. According to a Times survey, in 39 of Florida's 67 counties, Bush led Gore, 60% to 37%. Results were not available for the remaining counties, including the heavily Democratic Palm Beach and Broward counties.
There has been great interest in the votes returned by military personnel, considered a strong voting bloc by Republicans. As of the end of business Thursday, the Miami office of the U.S. Postal Service reported that 581 ballots from overseas military had been processed by their office since election day.
Those ballots, said South Florida postal service spokeswoman Enola Rice, were forwarded to the appropriate county the day they arrived in Miami. Rice said military ballots may also come through New York City and San Francisco.
Democrats are holding out hope for a strong showing among the 5,000 to 8,000 Floridians registered to vote who live in Israel at any given time. They are expected to support Gore and running mate Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, who is Jewish.
Working to Ensure Ballots Are Received
Election supervisors said their primary goal today will be collecting all ballots delivered by the deadline.
Mary Pat Lanman, assistant supervisor of elections in Lee County on the southwest coast, plans to check the post office three times for absentee ballots. After the final check at 4 p.m., she said, they will begin opening the envelopes and counting by hand.
Unless, of course, her supervisor decides otherwise.
Lanman said: "We are going to have an audience no matter what we do."
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Times researchers Massie Ritsch, Edith Stanley, Lianne Hart and Anna M. Virtue contributed to this story.
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With Absentee Ballots in, Bush Ahead by 926
From Associated Press
Aides to George W. Bush hailed a count of overseas absentee ballots that padded his lead in Florida Saturday to 926 votes over Al Gore. But they complained that ongoing hand recounts in three counties are "flawed and subject to human error."
All eyes were on the state's Supreme Court, which has prohibited the Florida secretary of state from certifying final results without the court's permission. The justices have set oral arguments for Monday.
Even as hand recounts resumed Saturday morning in Palm Beach and Broward counties, Bush campaign spokeswoman Karen Hughes said Bush and his running mate, Dick Cheney, were pleased with the overseas results.
With all of Florida's 67 counties reporting unofficial results to The Associated Press, the overseas ballots boosted Bush's statewide lead to 926 votes, including numbers certified earlier by the Florida secretary of state.
Overall, Bush picked up 1,376 votes from the overseas ballots and Gore got 750.
"Florida's votes have now been counted and recounted, and in some counties recounted three or four times, and virtually all of the overseas ballots have been counted," Hughes said in a written statement. "We are hopeful that once the Florida Supreme Court has heard arguments in this case, the laws of Florida will prevail and the election will be certified."
Hughes also tried to cast doubt on the validity of the hand recounts, which are under way in predominantly Democratic areas. At stake were Florida's pivotal 25 electoral votes, which will provide either Bush or Gore the margin needed to win the White House.
"As our observers report numerous problems with that count, we continue to be concerned that the manual recount of ballots that have already been machine counted several times is flawed and subject to human error," she said.
On CNN, Gore campaign spokesman Doug Hattaway defended the hand recounts.
"Given the scrutiny that has been brought to bear, everyone ought to be comfortable with the outcome," he said.
Palm Beach County resumed a manual recount of its 462,350 ballots Saturday morning. Broward County officials did the same, and said they were hoping to finish recounting their 588,000 ballots by 5 p.m. Monday.
"We can probably do it" if no legal challenges are filed, said Broward County Judge Robert W. Lee, a Democratic member of the county's canvassing board.
In Miami-Dade County, the state's largest, officials decided to begin a recount of their 654,000 ballots Sunday morning.
In DeLand, Fla., Seminole County Democrats were in court seeking to have 4,700 absentee ballots thrown out. In a lawsuit filed Friday, Democrats claimed the county's elections supervisor incorrectly let Republicans alter the signed absentee ballot request forms by inserting voter identification numbers.
"The one constant is that things are changing, minute by minute," Hughes told reporters Friday.
It was, if anything, an understated description of a tumultuous day on which one court handed Bush a victory, then two others favored Gore; and a day on which overseas absentee ballots boosted the Texas governor while the vice president gained ground from contested manual recounts in heavily Democratic counties.
Controversy was a constant companion. More than a thousand absentee ballots were thrown out Friday, and Republicans accused Democrats of mounting an organized effort to nullify votes cast by members of the armed forces.
Even so, the day's outcome, much to the Gore campaign's delight, was to block plans by the Florida secretary of state to certify Bush the winner based only on overseas votes, and to allow the manual recounts to continue over the weekend in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.
Roughly 1.6 million ballots were cast in those areas on Election Day.
The overall returns do not include the results of the disputed hand recounts sought by Democrats in Broward and Palm Beach counties. Broward has given Gore an additional 48 votes so far, while Bush picked up four votes in four Palm Beach precincts.
In Vietnam, during a brief farewell ceremony at the presidential palace in Hanoi, President Clinton joked with Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong about the still unresolved election. "I have to go home to see if there's a president," Clinton said.
In another closely contested state, New Mexico and its five electoral votes went Friday to Gore, a winner by 481 votes out of more than 590,000 cast. With his slender victory Gore maintained his 200,000-vote lead in the nationwide popular vote.
But the battle for the White House had long since come down to Florida.
"Neither Governor Bush, nor the Florida secretary of state, nor I, will be the arbiter of this election," Gore said Friday afternoon. "This election is a matter that must be decided by the will of the people as expressed under the rule of law, law which has meaning as determined in Florida now by the Florida Supreme Court."
Former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, speaking on behalf of the Bush camp, said the court had "issued an order that neither side requested. Nevertheless, its action is not an order on the merits of the case."
Gore, then Baker, spoke shortly after the Florida justices stepped into the disputed election on their own, deciding to "maintain the status quo," and ordering Secretary of State Katherine Harris not to certify final statewide returns until further notice.
Harris had previously served notice she intended to certify a winner shortly after noon Saturday, and had been planning a ceremonial certification after the overseas absentee ballots had been counted.
"She welcomes guidance from the highest court. The monkey isn't on her back anymore," said her spokesman, Joe Klock.
While the court changed Harris' plans dramatically, it added: "It is NOT the intent of this order to stop the counting" of absentee ballots or any other ballots. It also set a hearing for Monday.
Hours later, a federal appeals court in Atlanta issued a ruling allowing the hand recounts to proceed.
The counting went on under the careful watch of lawyers for the two parties.
"There are more attorneys than there are ballots," said Bob Edwards, a GOP official in Walton County, where five of 10 overseas absentee votes were rejected. In Hillsborough County, protests resulted in the rejection of 74 of the 135 overseas ballots, and Republicans said Democrats were responsible.
The process was the same in the recount counties, although the number of votes involved was much larger. In Palm Beach County, roughly 1,800 of the first 16,000 ballots to be examined were set aside as questionable, to be examined by the county canvassing board.
"It was part of a deliberate process to delay this recount," charged Democratic lawyer Mark White.
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1 Million California Ballots Still Uncounted
Election: Most are absentees. State tally of over 9 million votes so far shows Gore leading Bush 54%-42%.
By JULIE TAMAKI and JEFFREY L. RABIN, Times Staff Writers
SACRAMENTO--State officials estimated Thursday that more than 1 million absentee ballots still wait to be counted in California.
Unlike Florida, California counties have 28 days after the election to certify their results and turn them over to Secretary of State Bill Jones' office, so it could be weeks before the state's election results become official.
At stake is the balloting for president, which separates the candidates by only 200,000 votes nationally. "We are pleased to say that California is still in play," Undersecretary of State Robert C. Lapsley said.
Vice President Al Gore leads Texas Gov. George W. Bush 54% to 42% in California, with Gore raking in roughly 5.2 million votes to Bush's 4 million.
Yet to be counted are an estimated 1,016,246 absentee, provisional or challenged ballots from 44 California counties, the bulk of which state officials say fall into the absentee category. That number is expected to grow once an unknown number of similar ballots from 14 additional counties are added to the total.
In Los Angeles County alone, County Registrar-Recorder Conny B. McCormack estimated that there are 106,000 absentee ballots left to be counted. In addition, 116,000 provisional ballots must be checked before it can be determined whether they should be counted. Some of those include ballots cast by voters who showed up at a polling place but were not on the roster or who had earlier requested an absentee ballot.
There are an estimated 104,000 unprocessed ballots in Orange County, 45,170 in Ventura County and 32,500 in San Bernardino County. Riverside County had not reported an estimate.
In Central California, 32,000 absentee ballots remain to be counted to determine who will represent the 5th Senate District vacated by Sen. Patrick Johnston (D-Stockton), according to Jones' office. Assemblyman Michael Machado (D-Linden) was leading his Republican opponent, Lodi City Councilman Alan Nakanishi, by less than 1,000 votes.
About 63% of registered voters cast ballots statewide, according to the current estimate, but that figure could rise to 70% or higher once the unprocessed ballots are counted, Jones said.
Jones released a statement Thursday urging the public and the media to hold off on declaring a presidential winner of the national popular vote until the absentee ballots in California and across the nation have been counted.
He also appealed to television networks to work with secretaries of state from across the nation to develop a plan to avoid a repeat of Tuesday's fiasco, in which a number of networks prematurely declared that Gore had won Florida's electoral votes and later that Bush was the next president, among other gaffes.
"A mistake was already made on election night because of the media's zeal for ratings; let's not make that mistake again with prognostications of the national popular vote," Jones said in the statement.
Earlier in the month, Jones renewed a request he first made three years ago to television network executives, asking them to refrain from using exit polls to project winners in the East while voters were still casting ballots in the West. Jones took issue with the potential for error and the possibility that such projections might dissuade some West Coast voters from heading to the polls.
While California counties have until Dec. 5 to turn their certified results in to Jones, the process typically wraps up in a couple of weeks.
John Mott-Smith, Jones' elections division chief, said counties are counting absentee ballots that arrived on Monday and Tuesday, or ones turned into polling places. The signatures on the ballots must be checked against the signatures on the voters' registration cards, a time-consuming process.
McCormack said Los Angeles County has more provisional ballots in this election than ever before. "It adds another layer of difficulty to the process," she said.
The problem of provisional ballots tends to be worse in presidential election years because larger numbers of voters who have never cast a ballot show up at the polls and are not familiar with the mechanics of voting, said McCormack, Los Angeles County's top election official.
She said the use of absentee ballots "exploded" this year, with 615,000 county voters requesting a mail-in ballot, 25% more than ever before. "It keeps growing and it's very expensive," she said.
McCormack expressed sympathy for election officials in Florida, who have 10 days to complete their final official vote count.
Unlike Florida, where state law requires an automatic recount in very close elections, California uses a different approach to check the accuracy of the count.
McCormack said 1% of ballots cast are randomly selected from 1% of the precincts. Election officials then manually count every vote in every race and compare that result to the computer count.
Speed is important, but "accuracy is essential," she said. "People have to understand the complexity. This is not easy work."
Tamaki reported from Sacramento and Rabin from Los Angeles.
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