Guest Blogged by John Gideon
In this segment from yesterday, Kitty Pilgrim reports on Florida and their failure to provide recountable ballots for half of the voters in the state. Congressman Wexler wants to do something about that and he has now taken his case to the US Supreme Court.
The text-transcript of tonight’s segment on Lou Dobbs Tonight follows in full…
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Florida desperately wants to get beyond the spectacles of hanging chads in the botched elections of 2000. But Florida may be at risk again; 52 counties in Florida use optical scan voting machines, that can have a manual recount. But 15 other counties, representing half of voters, use touch screen electronic voting systems, without a paper trail. Systems that cannot be recounted if there is a close election.
Congressman Robert Wexler, of Florida, has filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, using 2000 as the reason they should hear the case. He’s arguing that because there is no paper trail in some counties, all voters are not given equal rights.
REP. ROBERT WEXLER (D), FLORIDA: The right to have one’s vote counted on equal terms with other voters is an essential part of the constitutional right to vote. And in Florida now, we have a state law which requires a manual recount in close elections. Just based on where you vote, or the machine that your county uses, shouldn’t determine the likelihood of whether or not your vote gets counted.
PILGRIM: Wexler’s case was dismissed by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in June. But he argues that because different opinions have been issued by different federal circuit courts on this same issue, his lawsuit should be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, to reconcile the different rulings.
Wexler points to other states, such as Maryland’s Governor Robert Ehrlich, who have challenged the accuracy of touch screen voting machines and demanded a paper trail. Florida Fair Elections Coalition supports Wexler’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme court. Telling LOU DOBBS TONIGHT, “We believe the paperless system is a threat to democracy due to the secret software, and the lack of accountability there is not way to assure votes are recorded as the machines say they are.”
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Congressman Wexler filed this case last week. He’s hoping the U.S. Supreme Court will hear the case in the upcoming term, Lou.
DOBBS: Kitty, thank you very much. Kitty Pilgrim.
Thank you Congressman Wexler. I wish we had more like him and Clint Curtis down here fighting for our right to vote and have it counted.
Congressman Wexler also wrote an article in our local paper, explaining the “doughnut hole” seniors and the disabled will fall into soon, with the Republican Drug Plan, part D. Thousands of seniors and disabled, will soon be paying premiums for a plan that stops drug coverage.This scam does not benefit us, but does benefit the drug companies. And that was how the plan was designed.
Delicious irony. The SCOTUS invited this by ruling in 2000 that the recount had to stop on the ground that it did not give equal protection to all voters. Gosh, don’t you hate it when your corruption comes back to haunt you?
Every state should have a congressman like Wexler. Gutsy and not politically correct every moment of the day. He sure proved that on the Daily Show. How refreshing that was!
I love Mr Wexler!! We need Mr Wexler to join the 911 truth movement! To stop this corrupt government we MUST expose 911. Thank you for the shimmer of hope Congessman Wexler.