Update: 12/12/00 The Florida Supreme Court, by two 6-0 votes, upheld the Leon County trial
courts' actions denying the plaintiffs' challenge to the validity of the
absentee ballots from Seminole and Martin Counties. The ballots will stand as
counted.
Dateline: 12/11/00
About.com Poll
The
Seminole County voter fraud case, now being appealed to the Florida Supreme
Court, may be as critical to the outcome of
the presidential election as the U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming decision on the fate of
vote recounts. [See: US Supreme Court Hears Recount
Appeal]
Lead
attorney for the plaintiffs Gerald Richman will file briefs to the Florida
Supreme Court today appealing the decision of
Leon County Florida Circuit Court judge Terry P. Lewis. On December 8, Judge
Lewis ruled against the plaintiffs, Seminole County voters, who had asked that
all absentee ballots in the county be thrown out due to alleged acts of voter
fraud on the part of Republican operatives prior to the election.
The
plaintiffs claimed that Seminole County Election Supervisor Sandra Goard had
allowed Republican party members to illegally alter absentee ballot requests by
adding required voter ID numbers. Florida law requires that only a voter, a
family member or guardian may complete all information on the absentee ballot
application.
In his
decision, Judge Lewis found that the acts of the Election Supervisor, while
illegal, were not intentional and did not warrant throwing out the absentee
votes.
According
to the ruling, "The trial courts in both the Seminole County case and the
Martin County case have determined that despite irregularities in the request
for absentee ballots, neither the sanctity of the ballots nor the integrity of
the election have been compromised."
The
decision concluded, "The election results reflect a full and fair
expression of the will of the voters. ... All relief requested by the plaintiffs
has been denied."
We disagree," Richman said.
"We believe the evidence strongly shows deliberate wrongdoing to favor
Republican voters over everyone else, and we hope to win on appeal," said
Richman. "There is clear precedent for the proposed remedy (throwing out
the ballots) in Florida
law," he added.
In his appeal, Richman argues that Judge Lewis erred in
his finding. According to Richman, evidence from witnesses showed willful
wrongdoing. This is not just a minor technicality," according to Richman.
"The Seminole County Board of Elections separated rejected absentee ballot
application forms into two piles and gave priority to the Republican forms. They
permitted Republican Party officials to work in government offices, corrected 9
Republican absentee ballot applications for every 1 Democratic application they
corrected, and even when the voter ID number the Republican officials put on the
forms was incorrect they sent those people an absentee ballot anyway. This is
contrary to the law. This special privilege offered only to Republicans
submitting incomplete or incorrect information on their absentee ballot
applications resulted in almost 2,000 additional Republican votes being
cast," he said.
"The integrity of the process and the impartiality of public officials
who have responsibility for conducting fair elections is at stake," said
Richman.
Note: A case similar to the Seminole County lawsuit was filed by
voters in Martin County, Florida. The case was heard in the
Leon County Florida Circuit Court of Judge Nikki Ann Clark. Judge Clark also
denied the plaintiffs' request. Judges Clark and Terry P. Lewis, who heard the
Seminole case, issued a joint decision on December 8.
| 