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| For Immediate Release | |
| Dec 11, 2000 | Contact: Press Office 202-646-5172 |
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Judicial Watch Sought Expedited Review of Broward Judge’s Order Denying Timely Access To Broward County’s Ballots (Washington, DC) Florida’s Court of Appeal for the Fourth District today granted expedited consideration to Judicial Watch’s appeal of a Broward County’s judge’s order denying Judical Watch timely access to Broward County’s ballots. Judicial Watch, under Florida state law, has requested access to ballots in all 67 Florida counties and was set to begin an examination of Broward’s ballots until George W. Bush’s lawyers intervened and persuaded Judge Patricia Cocalis to issue an order preventing Judicial Watch’s timely access. Judicial Watch immediately appealed the judge’s order to Florida’s Fourth Circuit. Today, the Fourth Circuit ordered that briefs on the matter be submitted by noon, Wednesday, December 13. Well over 40 counties responded positively to Judicial Watch’s requests for ballot access. Three counties – Palm Beach, Volusia, and Broward – failed to respond according to the Florida state law and were sued by Judicial Watch. In the Palm Beach county lawsuit, Judge Jorge Labarga gave Judicial Watch access to Palm Beach ballots and a preliminary count took place. Johnson Lambert & Co., a public accounting firm with expertise both in counting ballots and in detecting fraud, is helping oversee the Judicial Watch effort. A preliminary report by the firm on the Palm Beach ballots examined is available on Judicial Watch’s Internet site at www.judicialwatch.org. In its initial examination of the Palm Beach ballots, Judicial Watch found chads taped onto ballots, “recreated” ballots, and no reconciliation of the different counts performed by the Palm Beach officials. “We are pleased by the Appeals Court’s ruling. Florida law could not be more clear – citizens have a right to access the ballots in a timely fashion. The public interest is harmed by these delays, ” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. Judicial Watch plans to issue public reports on its ballot findings and will recommend any needed reforms to the election processes in Florida. |
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