No matter how long this takes.
Those democrat poll workers must have been in on a plot.

Reno's Call for Recount Rejected
Fla. Officials: Law Doesn't Allow It

By Edward Walsh
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 14, 2002; Page A01

MIAMI, Sept. 13 -- In an increasingly eerie replay of the 2000 presidential election in Florida, former attorney general Janet Reno today demanded a statewide, manual recount of the votes in Tuesday's Democratic gubernatorial primary. But state officials said that was not possible under Florida law.

Reno campaign officials made the demand as elections officials here continued to sift through the returns from Miami-Dade County. There are reports that perhaps thousands of votes were not counted Tuesday night in the unofficial tallies of Reno's narrow statewide loss to Tampa lawyer Bill McBride.

Reno won about 70 percent of the vote in Miami-Dade, and votes there that were not initially counted can still be added to the totals. That leaves Reno and her supporters with the faint hope that she could overtake McBride before the returns are declared official next week.

The continuing turmoil, which is likely to stretch into next week, left Florida Democrats reeling and has distracted from what appeared to be a remarkable come-from-behind victory by McBride, a political unknown who was making his first run for public office. The feverish review of vote counts, the demands for a recount and the threats of lawsuits were also a painful reminder of 2000, an election that left Florida Democrats determined to seek revenge against Gov. Jeb Bush (R) for his role in delivering this state to his brother, George W. Bush.

Responding immediately to Reno's recount demand, David Host, spokesman for Florida Secretary of State Jim Smith (R), said there is no provision in state law that would allow a recount without a court order. "The time for that is passed," he said. "She can't just ask for it and get it."

Host said that, under Florida law, a recount can take place only if the first unofficial returns show that a candidate has lost by less than half of 1 percent, which triggers an automatic machine recount, or less than one-quarter of 1 percent, which triggers an automatic manual recount. The unofficial returns, which were delivered to the state elections canvassing commission Thursday, showed Reno losing to McBride by 8,196 votes. That left Reno about 1,500 votes short of the total needed for an automatic machine recount.

Florida counties are required to deliver their official returns to Smith by 5 p.m. Tuesday, and the canvassing commission will certify those returns as official Wednesday, Host said. He said that if the official returns show Reno losing, her only option would be to contest the election in state court after the certification next week.

Alan Greer, general counsel of Reno's campaign, disputed Host's interpretation of state law. He said the campaign did not expect a recount to be ordered today but was required by state law to make the recount request today or waive its right to a recount in the future.

Greer predicted that uncounted votes in Miami-Dade will at least get Reno within the threshold for an automatic machine recount. Then, he said, the Reno campaign will demand that the canvassing commission reconsider today's rejection before the returns are certified as official Wednesday.

Against the backdrop of the 2000 presidential election, Greer said a second rejection by the commission, made up entirely of Republicans, would cause a "firestorm."

"I think they would be courting political suicide," he said. "I think this state would rise up in almost bloody revolution if [Reno] is treated that way."

Greer added that the Reno campaign had no intention of going to court against McBride to contest the election, but was prepared to sue the elections canvassing commission if it refuses to order a recount. "Then they have to decide how much heat they're willing to take," he said.

A well-placed Democratic source who has spoken to Reno since the primary said earlier today, "She knows where things are. But she feels an obligation to continue to fight for her people and for the voters who were disenfranchised."

Reno struck that theme in an interview today with CNN. "I'm going to be prepared to concede when I've done everything I can to get the votes counted, and I'm going to accept what I've achieved," she said. "My whole purpose is to get the votes counted and let the votes speak, not Janet Reno speak, but let the votes speak."

McBride claimed victory Thursday night, but Reno has refused to concede defeat. She has promised to support McBride if he is the Democratic nominee, a pledge she reiterated today. "I think Bill McBride would make a great governor, and if he is the nominee, I intend to campaign hard for him and be very supportive of him," Reno said.

Last year, Florida lawmakers, deeply embarrassed by the 2000 election debacle here, authorized spending millions to replace older voting machines with modern devices and to train poll workers. Despite that effort, on Tuesday there were numerous reports of the new machines malfunctioning. A larger problem was that some polling places, including Reno's, were opened late or closed early by poll workers.

The problems occurred in scattered parts of the state but were concentrated in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, both Reno strongholds. Miami-Dade officials were reviewing computer tapes from voting machines but said they were confident of completing the task by the 5 p.m. deadline Tuesday.

Earlier today, Reno and McBride, who was also interviewed separately on CNN, both blamed Bush for Tuesday's election problems. "We should focus on the lack of commitment by the governor to get this straightened out." McBride said. "The governor has the responsibility, particularly after 2000, to make sure that [voting] is done right," Reno said. "Our governor tends to say it's not his problem."

Bush, who campaigned in three Florida cities Thursday, was in Miami today but did not have any campaign events scheduled. His campaign spokesman, Todd Harris, declined to say which Democrat Bush considered his opponent. "We don't know which one is going to be the nominee," he said. "Given all the momentum that McBride went into the primary with, in some ways we're more prepared to run against him than Reno. . . . We're ready to take our case to the voters, and we don't have to wait for the Democrats to sort out their election to do that."

Harris also dismissed Democratic claims that Bush was responsible for Tuesday's problems. "That's just not an argument that's going to resonate," he said. If McBride is the nominee, Harris added, "it's going to be difficult for Democrats to capitalize on this by blaming the governor without reminding voters that the Democratic nominee, Bill McBride, didn't want all the votes counted."

© 2002 The Washington Post Company