Florida - Suit seeks to overturn election - 12/2

[dzika]

Suit seeks to overturn election
02 Dec 2004
By Marvin G. Cortner News-Gazette Staff Writer

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The Osceola County Canvassing Board and the two newly elected
Republican county commissioners have been named in a lawsuit that
alleges voting irregularities.

Julio Cesar Diaz II, a Kissimmee resident who worked on the campaign
of Democratic County Commission candidate Michael Harford as a
political consultant and who observed canvassing board activities
for both Harford and commission candidate Peter Olivo, alleges
irregularities occurred with the way absentee and early votes were
handled by the canvassing board. Republican County Commissioners Ken
Smith and Atlee Mercer and Osceola County Judge Jon Morgan comprised
the canvassing board for the Nov. 2 election.

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Diaz alleges that the unexplained delivery of thousands of ballots
to the canvassing board late on election night after the polls
closed provides the grounds on which the election should be set
aside. After the polls closed on Election Day, the elections office
received 1,955 absentee ballots and 2,602 missed early votes. He
claims that a number of these ballots were illegal — that people
essentially voted twice — and in a sufficient number to change or
place in doubt the results of the election.

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Diaz claims that neither the Supervisor of Elections staff nor the
canvassing board provided an adequate explanation as to how the
absentee ballots and early votes were received and handled on
Election Day.

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Diaz further states in court documents that the attorney also
reported that on Nov. 2 a number of absentee ballots reviewed by the
canvassing board appeared to be voted in a “hasty manner” as most of
them did not have a vote on the constitutional amendments or for
Appellate Court judges.

http://www.oscnewsgazette.com/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=9670