On Wed, 27 Oct 2004, Doug Henwood wrote:
>> Doug, you mentioned the other night that Carter said the reason he
>> decided not to send his Center in as a poll observer into Florida was
>> because it was FUBAR. Do you remember where he was quoted saying that?
>
> I think it was an op-ed in the Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52800-2004Sep26.html
Washington Post
Monday, September 27, 2004; Page A19
Still Seeking a Fair Florida Vote
By Jimmy Carter
After the debacle in Florida four years ago, former president Gerald
Ford and I were asked to lead a blue-ribbon commission to recommend
changes in the American electoral process. After months of concerted
effort by a dedicated and bipartisan group of experts, we presented
unanimous recommendations to the president and Congress. The
government responded with the Help America Vote Act of October 2002.
Unfortunately, however, many of the act's key provisions have not been
implemented because of inadequate funding or political disputes.
The disturbing fact is that a repetition of the problems of 2000 now
seems likely, even as many other nations are conducting elections that
are internationally certified to be transparent, honest and fair.
The Carter Center has monitored more than 50 elections, all of them
held under contentious, troubled or dangerous conditions. When I
describe these activities, either in the United States or in foreign
forums, the almost inevitable questions are: "Why don't you observe
the election in Florida?" and "How do you explain the serious problems
with elections there?"
The answer to the first question is that we can monitor only about
five elections each year, and meeting crucial needs in other nations
is our top priority. (Our most recent ones were in Venezuela and
Indonesia, and the next will be in Mozambique.) A partial answer to
the other question is that some basic international requirements for a
fair election are missing in Florida.
The most significant of these requirements are:
o A nonpartisan electoral commission or a trusted and nonpartisan
official who will be responsible for organizing and conducting the
electoral process before, during and after the actual voting takes
place. Although rarely perfect in their objectivity, such top
administrators are at least subject to public scrutiny and responsible
for the integrity of their decisions. Florida voting officials have
proved to be highly partisan, brazenly violating a basic need for an
unbiased and universally trusted authority to manage all elements of
the electoral process.
o Uniformity in voting procedures, so that all citizens, regardless of
their social or financial status, have equal assurance that their
votes are cast in the same way and will be tabulated with equal
accuracy. Modern technology is already in use that makes electronic
voting possible, with accurate and almost immediate tabulation and
with paper ballot printouts so all voters can have confidence in the
integrity of the process. There is no reason these proven techniques,
used overseas and in some U.S. states, could not be used in Florida.
It was obvious that in 2000 these basic standards were not met in
Florida, and there are disturbing signs that once again, as we prepare
for a presidential election, some of the state's leading officials
hold strong political biases that prevent necessary reforms.
Four years ago, the top election official, Florida Secretary of State
Katherine Harris, was also the co-chair of the Bush-Cheney state
campaign committee. The same strong bias has become evident in her
successor, Glenda Hood, who was a highly partisan elector for George
W. Bush in 2000. Several thousand ballots of African Americans were
thrown out on technicalities in 2000, and a fumbling attempt has been
made recently to disqualify 22,000 African Americans (likely
Democrats), but only 61 Hispanics (likely Republicans), as alleged
felons.
The top election official has also played a leading role in qualifying
Ralph Nader as a candidate, knowing that two-thirds of his votes in
the previous election came at the expense of Al Gore. She ordered
Nader's name be included on absentee ballots even before the state
Supreme Court ruled on the controversial issue.
Florida's governor, Jeb Bush, naturally a strong supporter of his
brother, has taken no steps to correct these departures from
principles of fair and equal treatment or to prevent them in the
future.
It is unconscionable to perpetuate fraudulent or biased electoral
practices in any nation. It is especially objectionable among us
Americans, who have prided ourselves on setting a global example for
pure democracy. With reforms unlikely at this late stage of the
election, perhaps the only recourse will be to focus maximum public
scrutiny on the suspicious process in Florida.
Former President Carter is chairman of the Carter Center in Atlanta.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company