From: econews@ecologynews.com
Subject: (Fwd) 13 Myths about the results of the 2000 Election
Date: 17 Nov 2000 03:03:17 -0500
To: iufo@topica.com

->  IUFO  Mailing List


        14 November 2000

The following is a forwarded message regarding the current stand-off in the
U.S. elections. Please read and support a democratic process in choosing the
next U.S. President.

13 MYTHS ABOUT THE RESULTS OF THE 2000 ELECTION

[Links, lists and author information at the bottom]

13 Myths about the Election as it stands at the moment:

In the next week, millions of dollars will be spent in a public
relations war in an attempt to determine the next president of the
United States. Will the outcome of the election be determined by
ratings in the polls? Will the present standoff be resolved by
escalation and threats? Or will the intention of the voters on
election day, and the responsibility of the states to count their
ballots, actually be taken into account?

Our involvement in the next few weeks is essential to assert
democratic control over the election process. The price of liberty
is eternal vigilance. This flyer is a collaboration of over a dozen
people who have been researching and documenting the truth. It
provides a point by point analysis of some key myths. Please
read, copy, and forward to friends, relatives and colleagues!


1) Myth: Al Gore has a responsibility to concede the election.

    Fact: A 330 vote margin out of 6 million votes cast in Florida is
    incredibly close! It is roughly equivalent to a 1-vote margin in
    a city with 40,000 people and 18,000 voters.

    It is extremely rare for an election this close NOT to be
    contested for several weeks until a manual recount can take place,
    with observers from both sides taking part and inspecting ballots.
    This kind of detailed recount has not yet taken place.

    According to the US Constitution and the Laws of Florida, it is
    the responsibility of officials in Florida to certify the election
    results. November 17 is the deadline for absentee ballots sent
    from overseas to arrive. Since the election is close enough in
    Florida, Oregon, and New Mexico to be affected by absentee ballots,
    the results in those states cannot be certified before that date.


2) Myth: the number of "spoiled ballots" in Palm Beach County was
    typical. In a press briefing televised live on all networks
    on 11/9/00, Karl Rove of the Bush campaign compared the 14,872
    invalidated ballots in the 1996 Presidential race to 19,120
    ballots for President that were spoiled in this election.

    Fact: the Bush campaign was comparing apples and oranges.
    There were actually 29,702 invalidated ballots this year in
    Palm Beach County. This is almost twice the number in 1996.
    "19,120" refers to only those 2000 ballots which were thrown
    out for voting for two Presidential candidates. The remaining
    10,582 ballots in 2000 had no choice recorded for President

    According to the Palm Beach County elections office
    (www.pbcelections.org), voters this year were not confused at all
    by the rest of the ballot. For example, less than 1% of U.S.
    Senate votes were invalidated because of multiple punches,
    compared with over 4% in the Presidential contest.


3) Myth: The Palm beach ballot is definitely illegal due to the
    presence of punch holes to the left of some of the candidates.

    Fact: According to the Secretary of State's office, there is a
    loophole in Florida law that may allow ballots used for voting
    machines to deviate from the rules governing paper ballots. This
    view has been contested by hundreds of Florida voters. The final
    decision on the legality of the ballot is likely to be made in
    court, as long as this issue could have an effect on the election.

    It is possible that the ballot could be ruled illegal on other
    grounds, such as the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and
    Handicapped Act or the Americans With Disabilities Act.


4) Myth: "The more often ballots are recounted, especially by hand,
    the more likely it is that human errors, like lost ballots and
    other risks, will be introduced. This frustrates the very reason
    why we have moved from hand counting to machine counting." --
    Former Sec. of State James Baker, speaking on behalf of the Bush
    campaign at a press briefing televised by all networks on 11/10/00.

    Fact: In 1997, George W. Bush signed into law a bill stating that
    hand recounts were the preferred method in a close election in
    Texas. The bill, "HB 330", mandated that representatives of all
    parties be present to prevent fraud.

    Laws establishing rights and procedures for hand recounts also
    exist in Florida (see Title IX, Chapter 102). In fact, the Orlando
    Sentinel, (orlandosentinel.com) reported that a partial hand count
    of Presidential ballots this year was ordered by Republicans in
    Seminole County, where Bush led Gore. This count took place
    on 11/9 and 11/10, widening Bush's lead by 98 votes. The Bush
    campaign did not complain about this hand count; nor did it
    complain about the hand count on 11/11/00 which put Bush slightly
    ahead of Gore in New Mexico.

    There do exist machine voting systems which are fairly accurate,
    but antiquated punch card systems are notoriously inaccurate. They
    were outlawed in Massachusetts in 1997 by Secretary of State William
    Galvin after a Congressional primary that was also "too close to
    call." The problem is that if the punched-out pieces of cardboard
    are not completely removed from the punch card, they can obstruct
    the card reader and the votes will not be counted. A manual
    recount of such cards can clearly reveal the voter's intentions.
			     -------

5) Myth: The process is unfair because hand recounts were held only
    in liberal areas of Florida, where Gore stands to pick up the
    most votes.

    Fact: It is true that a statewide recount would be more fair, and
    the Bush campaign has every right to request one. According
    to Florida law, hand recount requests must come from the campaigns,
    not from the state. To fail to request what is commonly referred
    to as a "defensive recount" in conservative areas of Florida, they
    may be making a tactical blunder that will cost them the election.

    It is also true that there were voting irregularities in the
    counties where the Gore campaign requested recounts.


6) Myth: "Palm Beach County is a Pat Buchanan stronghold and that's
    why Pat Buchanan received 3407 votes there. According to the
    Florida Department of State, 16,695 voters in Palm Beach County
    are registered to the Independent Party, the Reform Party, or
    the American Reform Party, an increase of 110% since the 1996
    presidential election" -- Ari Fleischer of the Bush Campaign,
    11/9/00. The 2,000 votes received by the Reform party candidate
    for Congress indicate that party's strength in Palm Beach County
    (James Baker on Meet the Press, 11/12/00).

    Fact: Of those 16,695 voters, only 337 (2 percent) are in the
    Reform Party according to Florida state records. The Reform
    party candidate for Congress, John McGuire, is connected to a
    more liberal wing of the Reform Party, predating Buchanan's
    involvement. An analysis of his support indicates that it came
    largely from reform-minded Ralph Nader voters.

    Regarding Buchanan's vote total, the Washington Post reported that
    his vote percentage in Palm Beach county was four times as high at
    the polls as in absentee voting. Even Buchanan himself admitted on
    11/8/00 on the Today Show that many of his votes actually "belonged
    to Al Gore." So did his campaign manager, Bay Buchanan.


7) Myth: If Gore (or Bush) ends up winning the popular vote, he really
    should win the election even if he loses Florida and other states.

    Fact: This is not the way the U.S. Constitution is written. The
    Electoral College decision, imperfect as it may be, is the only one
    that matters. It may be possible to reform or eliminate the electoral
    college in the future, so that small states would no longer receive
    extra electoral votes out of proportion to their population. But
    until this change is made by Constitutional amendment, the Electoral
    College is still the law of the land.


8) Myth: The Cook County, Illinois ballot from the home district
    of Gore campaign chair Bill Daley is similar to the "butterfly"
    ballot used in Palm Beach County (reported by Don Evans, 11/8/00)

    Fact: According to the Chicago Daily Herald on 11/10/00, the
    ballots in Chicago which had "facing pages" were referendum
    questions which only had two punch holes, Yes and No.


9) Myth: The election process in Florida outside of Palm Beach County
    was fair.

    Fact: Actually, thousands of irregularities in over a half-dozen
    categories have already been reported:

    -Ballots ran out in certain precincts according to the LA Times
     on 11/10/00.

    -Carpools of African-American voters were stopped by police,
     according to the Los Angeles Times (11/10/00). In some cases,
     officers demanded to see a "taxi license".

    -Polls closed with people still in line in Tampa, according to the
     Associated Press.

    -In Osceola County, ballots did not line up properly, possibly
     causing Gore voters to have their ballots cast for Harry Browne.
     Also, Hispanic voters were required to produce two forms of ID when
     only one is required. (source: Associated Press)

    -Dozens, and possibly hundreds, of voters in Broward County were
     unable to vote because the Supervisor of Elections did not have enough
     staff to verify changes of address.

    -Voters were mistakenly removed from voter rolls because their names
     were similar to those of ex-cons. (source: Mother Jones magazine,
     http://www.motherjones.com/news_wire/floridavote.html)

    -According to Reuters news service (11/8/00), many voters received
     pencils rather than pens when they voted, in violation of state law.

    -According to the Miami Herald, many Haitian-American voters were
     turned away from precincts where they were voting for the first
     time (11/10/00)

    -According to Feed Magazine (www.feedmag.com), the mayoral candidate
     whose election in Miami was overturned due to voter fraud, Xavier
     Suarez, said he was involved in preparing absentee ballots for
     George W. Bush. (11/9/00, reported at
     http://www.feedmag.com/templates/daily.php3?a_id=1389)

    -According to tompaine.com, CBS's Dan Rather reported a
     possible computer error in Volusia County, Florida, where James
     Harris, a Socialist Workers Party candidate, won 9,888 votes.
     He won 583 in the rest of the state. [11/9/00] County-level
     results for Florida are available at http://www.cnn.com.

    -Many African-American first-time voters who registered at motor
     vehicles offices or in campus voter registration drives did not
     appear on the voting rolls, according to a hearing conducted by
     the NAACP and televised on C-SPAN on 11/12/00.


10) Myth: "No evidence of vote fraud, either in the original
    vote or in the recount, has been presented." -- James Baker,
    representing the Bush campaign on 11/10/00, in a Florida briefing.

    Fact: The election was held just last week, so of course many
    instances of fraud have not yet been substantiated. Even so,
    authorities have already uncovered clear evidence of voter fraud
    involving absentee ballots.

    In Pensacola, Florida, Bush supporter Todd Vinson never received the
    absentee ballot he requested. According to the Associated Press on
    11/9/00, it was determined after an investigation that this ballot
    was received by a third party, filled out with a forged signature,
    and then sent in. Assistant State Attorney Russell Edgar, when asked
    if other absentee ballots might had been intercepted, said, "I agree
    there may well be many more than just this one."

    Much media attention on the issue of voter fraud has been focused
    on a story in Wisconsin where cigarettes were offered to homeless
    people in exchange by Gore supporters.


11) Myth: It is highly unusual for judges to intervene after an election.
    Since the designer of a disputed ballot in Florida is a member of
    the party contesting the election, a legal challenge is impossible.

    Fact: The most fundamental right of a democratic society is the
    the right to vote, and to have one's vote correctly counted. The
    legal system exists to ensure that people's rights are not violated.
    Whether the person committing a violation is a Democrat or a
    Republican does not affect how that violation should be treated.

    Elections are ultimately struggles for political power so it should
    not be surprising that disputes are often resolved in court. Of
    course judges can be biased. That is why they must explain their
    decisions and why bad arguments can be overturned on appeal.

    The Florida Supreme Court ruled in 1998, in connection with
    a disputed Volusia County election, that if there is "substantial
    noncompliance" with election laws and a "reasonable doubt" about
    whether election results "expressed the will of the voters" then a
    judge must "void the contested election, even in the absence of fraud
    or intentional wrongdoing." (source: Wall St. Journal, 10/10/00).
    The Journal indicated that there was little legal precedent for
    revoting in just one area where an election occured. It would
    be more likely for a court to order a new election or to overturn
    the result.

    These issues have arisen in other states as well. In a Massachusetts
    Democratic primary in 1996 for the US House, the election was so close
    after recounts that a judge had to make the final decision after
    examining some of the ballots that were incompletely punched, to
    determine the intention of the voter. The law clearly dictated that
    it was the will of the voter that mattered, and the candidate who was
    behind, William Delahunt, went on to win the final election. Call the
    Capitol Switchboard if you have any doubts at 202-225-3121.


12) Myth: Richard Nixon's party in 1960 did the honorable thing in not
    contesting the results of the election.

    Fact: According to a column in the Los Angeles Times, 11/10/00, "on
    Nov. 11, three days after the election, Thruston B. Morton, a Kentucky
    senator and the Republican Party's national chairman, launched bids
    for recounts or investigations in not just Illinois and Texas but also
    Delaware, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico,
    Nevada, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. A few days later, Robert
    H. Finch and Leonard W. Hall, two Nixon intimates, sent agents to
    conduct what they called "field checks" in eight of those 11
    battlegrounds. In New Jersey, local Republicans obtained court orders
    for recounts; Texans brought suit in federal court. Illinois
    witnessed the most vigorous crusade. Nixon aide Peter Flanigan
    encouraged the creation of a Chicago-area Nixon Recount Committee. As
    late as Nov. 23, Republican National Committee general counsel
    H. Meade Alcorn Jr. was still predicting Nixon would take Illinois."
    Recounts continued into December, but did not succeed in overturning
    the result of the election.


13) Myth: "Governor Bush is still the winner, subject only to counting
    the overseas ballots, which traditionally have favored the Republican
    candidates" -- James Baker, Press Briefing, 11/10/00

    Fact: The number of yet-to-be-counted overseas military ballots is
    likely to be in the range of 500 to 2000, based on the 1996 election
    in which there were 2,300 oversees absentee ballots overall, with
    roughly 60% of them coming from people enlisted in the military.
    According to CNN [11/10/00], the military overseas ballots that
    arrived before the election were already counted.

    The biggest difference from 1996 is that Clinton -- who avoided the
    draft -- was running against Dole, a decorated military veteran.

    In 2000 George W. Bush -- who avoided service in Vietnam and actually
    lost flying privileges in the Texas Air National Guard -- is running
    against Al Gore, a veteran who served in Vietnam.

    It is just as possible that Gore will gain a few hundred votes from
    veterans as the other way around. It is also possible that the Gore
    ticket will pick up votes from Democratic diplomatic appointees, or
    temporary residents and dual citizens of Israel.


Draft #4, prepared by Rich Cowan (rcowan@lesley.edu) with help from
Paul Rosenberg, participants in the Red Rock Eater News Service, the
e-mail group florida-recount-discuss@egroups.com, and the Yale Law
School Student Campaign for a Legal Election, 127 Wall Street New
Haven, CT 06511, (203) 432-4888 -- spin@pantheon.yale.edu.

PLEASE HELP DISTRIBUTE THIS FLYER! We plan to make it easy for
you to obtain a paper copy for distribution at your workplace, church
or campus. Printable (Word, PDF) versions will be available at:
    http://dlis.gseis.ucla.edu/people/pagre/13myths.html

The latest copy of references will be updated frequently:
    http://dlis.gseis.ucla.edu/people/pagre/myth-references.html

To participate in a student discussion, please send a blank email to:
    can-rw-subscribe@topica.com

To participate in an online database of voting irregularities, visit:
    http://www.allegedirregularities.com

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