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9. November 17:- In the morning a county judge ruled that Harris had the right to refuse the recounted ballots. In the afternoon the Florida Supreme Court ruled that Harris may not proceed with her planned final certification the next day until the court rules on the admissibility of recounts. Miami-Dade County, reversing an earlier decision, voted for a full recount. And, to cap the Bush reversals, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Republican lawsuit which sought to suppress the hand recount throughout the state. Court slows Bush grab for power [18 November] 10. November 21:- The Florida Supreme Court ruled in favor of hand recounts and gave the counties until November 26 to file results. It validated the votes gained so far for Gore, reducing Bush's lead to 154 votes. It was clear to all that a manual recount of the 45,000 undervotes in the four counties would cause Bush's razor-thin margin to vanish. The Bush campaign retaliated by describing the decision as "an outrageous act of judicial overreaching" and appealed to the US Supreme Court for an emergency review on the grounds that a recount in these counties constituted a denial of equal protection because similar recounts were not conducted in the other counties. Of course Bush had strenuously opposed recounts in the other counties and had allowed the deadline to pass for asking for such recounts. Bush representative James Baker hints that the Florida legislature may convene and select electors based on the numbers certified by Harris. Right
to vote upheld in Florida S C decision on recounts [23 November]
Bush campaign operatives
and the anti-Castro Radio Mambi put out the call for protestors
to converge on the Miami Canvassing Board the next day. 11. November 22:- The Miami-Dade Canvassing Board began the manual recount of 10,000 undervotes in that county. A mob of about 150 at a signal from Rep. John Sweeney ("Shut it down!") began pounding on the doors of the elections department, chanting, "Stop the count, stop the fraud!" Several people were trampled and manhandled as the mob attempted to rush the doors. The crowd chased the county democratic chairman, screaming that he was stealing a ballot. He had to be rescued by the police. When officials were told that a mob of 1000 Cuban-Americans were on the way, they caved in and canceled the recount, claiming that there was not enough time to complete it. According to the Wall Street Journal of November 27 the office of Republican Congressional Whip Tom DeLay was in charge of the operation, making "an offer that many staffers couldn't refuse: free air fare, accommodations and food in the Sunshine State-all paid for by the Bush campaign." Mission accomplished in Miami, the group moved on to harass election workers in Broward and West Palm Beach. Thanksgiving evening Bush and Cheney called the leaders of the mob team, staff members of Republican congressmen, to congratulate them on their accomplishment. Anatomy
of a right-wing riot-- the Republican mob attack in Miami-Dade
Bush
campaign organized Republican riot to halt Miami-Dade recount |
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© Janette Rainwater 1997-2004 All rights reserved.
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