COUP WATCH: Republican Riots Help Stop Vote Count -- From Red Rock Eater News Service COUP WATCH: Republican Riots Help Stop Vote Count -- From Red Rock Eater News Service

By Phil Agre

Fri Nov 24 07:26:00 2000

It transpires that the riots that the Republican party organized in Miami yesterday played a role in persuading the Miami election board to stop counting the ballots in the presidential election. Here are the details (NY Times 11/24/00):

The Miami-Dade County Canvassing Board's decision on Wednesday to shut down its hand recount of presidential election ballots followed a rapid campaign of public pressure that at least one of the board's three members says helped persuade him to vote to stop the counting.

Republican telephone banks had urged Republican voters in Miami to go to the Stephen P. Clark Government Center downtown to protest the recount, which began there on Monday and which Democrats hoped would help swing Florida's 25 electoral votes to Vice President Al Gore.

The city's most influential Spanish-language radio station, Radio Mambi, called on staunchly Republican Cuban-Americans to head down- town to demonstrate. Republican volunteers shouted into megaphones urging protest. A lawyer for the Republican Party helped stir ethnic passions by contending that the recount was biased against Hispanic voters.

... Upstairs in the Clark center, several people were trampled, punched or kicked when protesters tried to rush the doors outside the office of the Miami-Dade supervisor of elections. ...

When the ruckus was over, the protesters had what they had wanted: a unanimous vote by the board to call off the hand counting. ...

Republican supporters scoffed at the accusation that they had engaged in a scheme of intimidation, saying the protest had been nothing more than a spontaneous manifestation of people's anger. ...

Evilio Cepero, a reporter for Radio Mambi ... phoned in interviews with two Republican lawmakers, United States Representatives Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, both Cuban-Americans who also helped persuade people to come.

"Spontaneous manifestations of anger" that far-right political parties organize to shut down democratic elections by means of telephone banks, broadcast appeals, and inflammatory disinformation have a special name. That name begins with "f", and it certainly represents a change in tone for our country.

Protest Influenced Miami-Dade's Decision to Stop Recount
      http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/24/politics/24MIAM.html

Poor Handwriting and Eligibility Mix-Ups Disqualified Many Absentee Votes
      http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/24/politics/24ABSE.html?printpage=yes

Tempers Flare as Broward Recount Plods On
      http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/23/politics/24BROW.html

Gore Vows to Continue Court Action Past Sunday
      http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54969-2000Nov23.html

The Secretary's Discretion
      http://slate.msn.com/Readme/00-11-22/Readme.asp

"Accuracy" vs. "Speed"
      http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20001211&s=alterman

Gore Camp Asks Rejection of Bush's Florida Appeal
      http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/24/politics/24SCOT.html

Gore Asks Supreme Court To Deny Bush Appeal
      http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20001123/el/recount_legal_209.html

Gore brief in opposition to Bush appeal to the Supreme Court
      http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/supremecourt/oppositions01.fdf

Result Challenges Loom in US Election
      http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001123/ts/election_leadall_dc_270.html

Congress Gets Ready for Its Potential Role
      http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=ELECT-CONGRESS-11-21-00&cat=WW

Bush suit to get military absentee ballots undisqualified
      http://199.44.225.4/courtDockets/pdf/CV-00-2799a.pdf

GOP in Legislature Seeks Way to Give Bush Electoral Votes
      http://www.latimes.com/print/asection/20001123/t000112721.html

Anger at Court May Not Vanish; Legislature Wants to Jump In
      http://orlandosentinel.com/automagic/news/2000-11-23/ASECfury23112300.html

Seminole Faces Charge of Double Voting
      http://orlandosentinel.com/automagic/news/2000-11-23/ASECsseminole2112300.html

About 500 Absentees Didn't Correct Flaws
      http://orlandosentinel.com/automagic/news/2000-11-23/ASECabsent23112300.html

Supreme Court May Dabble with Finer Points of Dimples
      http://orlandosentinel.com/automagic/news/2000-11-23/ASECellegal23112300.html

Palm Beach, Broward May Have Final Say
      http://orlandosentinel.com/automagic/news/2000-11-23/ASECpbroward23112300.html

Miami-Dade Backtracks, Again Halting Hand Recount
      http://orlandosentinel.com/automagic/news/2000-11-23/ASECmiami23x112300.html

A Tray of Chad with Electoral Dressing, Please
      http://www.startext.net/columnist/ivins2.htm

Petition by Gore
      http://www.flcourts.org/pubinfo/election/EmergencyPetition-MotionofAlGore.pdf

Order of the Court
      http://www.flcourts.org/pubinfo/election/Order(11-23-2000).pdf

Bush Motion to Intervene
      http://www.flcourts.org/pubinfo/election/BushMotiontoIntervene.pdf

Court Won't Order Dade Recount
      http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20001123/el/recount_legal.html

Hand Tally No Comfort to Gore; 8,000 Disputed Votes Hold Key
      http://www.miamiherald.com/content/archive/news/elect2000/decision/104765.htm

Gore Still Can Survive Recount Reversal in Dade
      http://www.miamiherald.com/content/today/news/daddocs/049973.htm

Emotions Mark Day of Indecision
      http://www.miamiherald.com/content/today/news/daddocs/103237.htm

Gore Picks Up Votes in Broward
      http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20001123/el/recount_broward_80.html

The Court Sifted Through the Issues Well
      http://www.latimes.com/print/editorials/20001123/t000112523.html

Counting That Chad Is Just the Texas Way
      http://www.latimes.com/print/editorials/20001123/t000112524.html

Some Possible Scenarios in the Florida Dispute
      http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=ELECT-SCENARIOS-11-23-00&cat=PP

11th US Circuit Court Sets Recount Filings Timetable
      http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=138511

Faced with Deadline, Board Gives Up
      http://www.gopbi.com/partners/pbpost/epaper/editions/today/news_4.html

GOP Asks Court for New Count
      http://www.gopbi.com/partners/pbpost/epaper/editions/today/news_3.html

Legal Battles
      http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/election/july-dec00/legal_11-22.html

Dispute Lingers After Dimples to Be Considered
      http://www.gopbi.com/partners/pbpost/epaper/editions/today/news_1.html

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