-----Original Message-----
From: Ekatz123@aol.com [mailto:Ekatz123@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2004 12:56 PM
To: Ekatz123@aol.com
Subject: Bill To Outlaw Manual Recounts of Touchscreen votes in Florida
BILL TO OUTLAW MANUAL RECOUNTS OF VOTES RECORDED ON
TOUCHSCREENS
Wexler Outraged at State Senate Bill Denying Voters Their Right to Have a
Manual Recount
Proposed Bill to Change Florida Recount Law is Unconstitutional
(Washington, D.C.) Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) is dismayed that State
Senator Anna Cowin, Chair of the Senate Ethics & Elections Committee, has
introduced legislation to change Florida's manual recount law. According to
Section 30 on Page 44 of the legislation (SB3004), "a manual recount may not
be conducted of undervotes on touchscreen machines." This legislation will
soon come up for a vote in the Senate Ethics & Elections Committee.
"It is inconceivable to me that, after what happened in the 2000
Presidential election, Republicans in Tallahassee would have the audacity to
introduce legislation, which denies voters in the 15 Florida counties with
touchscreen voting machines the means to conduct a manual recount, while
leaving 52 counties with a way to conduct one. This is blatantly
unconstitutional, and Florida's voters should be outraged," Wexler said.
Wexler filed a federal lawsuit on March 8, 2004, along with Palm Beach
County Commissioners Burt Aaronson and Addie Greene and Florida President of
the Alliance for Retired Americans Tony Fransetta, under the precedent set
by Bush vs. Gore in the 2000 presidential election. Wexler, Aaronson, Green
and Fransetta cite that it is unconstitutional for 52 counties in Florida to
have a means to conduct a manual recount, while the other 15 Florida
counties with touchscreen voting machines have a paperless system that does
not allow for a recount. On March 22, 2004, U.S. District Judge James Cohn
granted an expedited trial schedule in Wexler's federal lawsuit.
Congressman Robert Wexler serves on the House Judiciary Committee and the
House International Relations Committee.
