From: Harvey Newstrom (mail@HarveyNewstrom.com)
Date: Mon Nov 13 2000 - 23:24:04 MST
Brian D Williams wrote,
> This is in error, the vote in a number of states was close enough
> to warrant a recount. The reason it's only taking place in Florida
> is because Florida has a law insisting on a recount if the vote is
> within a certain percentage.
>
> Look for other states to pass such laws.
>
> The Gore camp didn't like the results of the recount (because they
> still lost) hence the current situation.
Actually, Gore doesn't have anything to do with this situation. Florida law
mandates or authorizes SIX counts of votes to occur. Everything that has
happened in Florida is specifically prescribed by law. Even the recounts,
hand-counts, voter lawsuits and judicial review of the vote is all going
according to the plan described by our lawmakers. Only Bush's lawsuit tried
to deviate from Florida law, and it was denied. This is how the election is
supposed to occur under Florida law when the vote is this close.
COUNT ONE: EXIT POLLING
Our state law allows news media to conduct exit polling and to announce the
results of the exit polling when the majority of counties have closed their
polls. We have two time zones. After the majority of our polls were closed
in the eastern timezone, the exit polls clearly showed Gore ahead by 20,000
or so votes. The exit polls projected Gore to be the clear winner, and this
is what was reported by all the new media.
COUNT TWO: MACHINE COUNT
Our state law requires all votes to be counted and reported. This produced
the first indication that the computers were not recording the vote the same
way as the exit polls. The news media moved Florida back into the
too-close-to-call column.
COUNT THREE: MACHINE RECOUNT
Our state law requires that all votes be recounted if the initial count
shows the top two candidates to be within one-half of one percent of each
other. This triggered the first round of recounts. This also forbids the
original count from being certified as official.
COUNT FOUR: SAMPLE HAND COUNT
Our state law allows any candidate to call for a recount if the final count
is close or if the accuracy of the machine counts is questioned. Gore
requested this recount on both grounds in four counties. It is not only
possible, but is specifically allowed by law. In the case of questioning
the accuracy of the machine counts, the law specifically authorizes hand
counts to check the machines. To save work, the county is allowed to
perform an initial hand-count of a small sample to test the machines. This
is the first hand-count.
COUNT FIVE: COMPLETE HAND COUNT
If the above hand count shows a dramatic difference between what the
machines report and what the humans count, the election officials have the
authority to call for a total hand count. This occurred in Palm Beach
county. They said that they found so many votes that were not counted by
the machines, that a hand count was warranted. Broward county had the
opposite result. They hand counted two-thirds of one percent of their
votes. They found four votes that were not counted by the machines. They
decided that this was not enough of an error to warrant a hand count of all
the votes.
COUNT SIX: ABSENTEE BALLOT COUNT
The final count occurs on Friday when the absentee ballots come in. These
votes must be counted at that time, and the votes must be added to the
totals. The final total for the whole state cannot be certified until then.
The initial certification on Tuesday can be used to lock in existing votes,
but cannot prevent new votes from being added as they get counted. This
will be the final count authorized by Florida law. Any numbers reported
before this sixth count cannot be certified as official under Florida law.
All of these counts have and will occur because of Florida law. Gore had
not interfered with our normal election process yet. Bush is tried to
overturn our local laws, but failed. The Palm Beach lawsuits are
specifically allowed by law which even goes so far as to allow the judge to
reallocate the vote if it does not accurately reflect the intent of the
voters. Everything down here is going according to plan. The country
should just be patient and wait. We are not the only state that is
recounting.
-- Harvey Newstrom, Security Testing Manager, Fiderus Phone:321-676-4894 Tollfree:866-FIDERUS Mobile:321-258-4809 FAX:321-676-5707 Pager:866-786-1001 or mailto:pager@HarveyNewstrom.com Web: http://HarveyNewstrom.com or http://Fiderus.com Emergency 24 hour response: 1-877-595-8491
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