-Caveat Lector-
Proof Of Serious Ballot
Trouble In Palm Beach
From Cliff Ribaudo
11-15-00
Dear Jeff,
This is from a friend of mine who knows the author
of the email below. He is the son of one of the
Precinct Clerks in Palm Beach on election day.
Amazing and for once, FINALLY we have first hand
proof of all the BS. He has given his permission (at
the end of the email) to send this everywhere, and
so, I send it to you.
Truth Is Justice Cliff Ribaudo
-----Original Message-----
From Ben Austin
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: My mother, Palm Beach County Precinct
Clerk
Dear friends,
I don't normally send long 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
MainPage
http://www.rense.com
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