FW: Ground zero in Palm Beach, FL

Date view Thread view Subject view Author view

From: Jim Whitehead (ejw@cse.ucsc.edu)
Date: Tue Nov 14 2000 - 15:14:23 PST


>Date: Sun, 12 Nov 2000 20:16:57 EST
>
>Subj: Palm Beach Election Facts
>Date: 11/12/2000 5:54:29 PM Central Standard Time
>From:    ac6123@wayne.edu (Pan-African News Wire)>
>The Plot Thickens...
>
>Dear friends,
>
>I don't normally send emails like this to a large
>block of people, certainly when it comes to my family,
>and certainly when the import of the issue makes it
>seem like the letter might travel far and wide.  But
>so many people have asked about this story that it
>seems important to send it out.  This is the true
>story of my mother, precinct clerk in Palm Beach
>county, Florida.
>
>My mother was a precinct clerk in Palm Beach county,
>Florida, election day of 2000.  Mom's very good friend
>Leah was a precinct clerk as well.  Both of them were
>incredibly upset during and after election day, before
>anyone knew the import of these specific voters.  And
>my mother was convinced there were serious
>irregularities long before they gained national
>prominence, and she called me to say so.
>
>I note this because some Republicans are now asking
>if there were these irregularities, how come they
>were not raised until after the election? In fact,
>my mother and the other precinct clerks raised these
>issues from the moment that the polls opened in the
>morning; the problem is that the person they intially
>called on was Theresa LePore, elections supervisor of
>Palm Beach county.  She was the source of the ballot
>confusion, and was uninterested in the issue.
>
>First, the paper ballot was extremely confusing to
>these voters.  Although both major parties got a
>chance to review the card layout, it is not clear if
>any had a chance to put the actual ballot in an actual
>machine and punch the holes.  The card is laid
>horizontally as you vote, and it is hard to see the
>holes as you punch them.  And my mother, who
>supervised the precinct she was in (this is a paid
>position, and she reported directly to Ms. LePore)
>said the card did not even fit correctly in the ballot
>machine, so the holes in the card did not line up with
>the ballot.
>
>Anyone who thinks this was minor voter confusion has
>never dealt with retirees in a West Palm Beach
>retirement village in Florida, I promise you.
>
>My mother, following the rules, said the poll workers
>had been told not to help people with the cards, as it
>might bias the voters.  My mother witnessed many, many
>people who voted incorrectly.  Some stayed on a second
>line and had their cards re-done, some punched the
>second hole (and thus were probably thrown out), and
>some found out they voted for Buchanan after they had
>deposited their cards in the ballot box, and there was
>thus nothing they could do.
>
>Mom called me up to complain about this after the
>elction, and she called me up again on Thursday, very
>upset after reading a story in the New York Times (Nov.
>9 2000, p. B6).  The Times story states:
>
>After numerous complaints were received on Tuesday
>morning, Ms. LePore issued this directive to the
>county's 106 precincts: Attention all poll workers.
>Please remind all voters coming in that they are to
>vote only for one (1) presidential candidate and that
>they are to punch the hole next to the arrow next to
>the number next to the candidate they wish to vote
>for.
>
>Mom never received this directive, and she believes
>that if anyone knew they could have helped people vote
>their preference, the outcome would have been very
>different.  Instead, my mother and the others were
>trying to do the right thing, and they felt that
>helping explain the ballot to these people would have
>been helping them to vote for Gore, something she
>didn't feel was proper.  These women are honest to a
>fault.
>
>Leah did receive the directive, but not until 4pm on
>election day, and only by accident; someone was
>coming to visit from the main office and told her
>about it.  In the mean time, my mother and Leah (and
>most of the precinct clerks) had been desperately
>trying to call the county office.  They had been given
>a phone number by Ms. LePore and told that the phone
>line would be staffed throughout the day.  They were
>told to call if there were any problems.
>
>Mom tried to call starting at 7:30am, calling straight
>through when polls closed, but she got a busy signal
>the entire time.  But mom was at a polling station
>with only a pay phone, so she had to deposit coins
>each time, and with long lines waiting for her, she
>was becoming increasingly frustrated.
>
>Leah was precinct chief at the retirement village
>where they live, and ran a polling station at the
>clubhouse.  Having a more modern facility, Leah tried
>on the phone as well, and when she couldn't get
>through, she called the operator to ask her why the
>phone was busy.  Leah had the presence of mind to get
>the operator's number (history is made by people like
>Leah) when the operator told her the phone was off the
>hook, meaning nobody was on the line the entire day.
>Evidently, the supervisor's office just didn't want to
>hear the complaints.
>
>Leah then faxed the supervisor's office with her
>concerns at noon and again at 2pm.  Nobody called Leah
>back until 5pm, when she heard from Ms. LePore, with
>the following words "don't bother me."
>
>So as this news starts to be spun and re-spun, let me
>tell you a few things I am certain to be true:
>-I can't argue intent either way, but the supervisor's
>office in Palm Beach county is at the very least
>unable to carry out an election in which these people
>have their say
>
>-These people started trying to fix the problem from
>the moment polls opened, and were fought along the
>way.  This is not about crying about the election once
>it is over.
>
>It pains me to see the issue being politicized by both
>sides.  Gore has no place having his advisor Daley make
>statements that after a recount, Gore will emerge
>victorious; and Bush has no place saying that he is the
>victor, or setting up a transition team.  In fact, the
>idea that Bush and his brother were together on
>election night, with Jeb Bush promising to "deliver
>Florida," draws a picture at least to me with the
>semblance of impropriety, especially now that we have
>seen the results so askew.  I hope everyone will pay
>attention to the facts here, and let the people of
>South Florida have the same opportunity to vote that
>the rest of us had.
>
>You are free to send this to anyone you wish.
>
>Ben Austin
>
>Date: Fri, 10 Nov 2000 10:33:15 -0800 (PST)
>From: Ben Austin <sonofapalmbeachprecinctclerk@yahoo.com
>Subject: My mother, Palm Beach County precinct clerk
>To: sonofapalmbeachprecinctclerk@yahoo.com >> >>


Date view Thread view Subject view Author view

This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Fri Nov 17 2000 - 16:26:13 PST