"Tally No!"
The November elections -- runoffs, recounts, and concessions -- are finally over, except in South Florida, where one disputed seat in the House of Representatives is the subject of a court hearing underway today that could lead to a new election being ordered. That won't change the balance of power in Washington, where Democrats have gained 30 seats in the House and will control 233 seats to the Republicans 202 in January. 
But the disputed election for Florida's 13th congressional district, an open seat where Republican Vern Buchanan has been certified as the winner by 369 votes over Democrat Christine Jennings, could prompt the House Democratic leadership to deny Buchanan his seat when the 110th Congress convenes on Jan. 4. And the seemingly messed up election may spark a federal mandate that all electronic voting machines, used by 40% of voters in November, generate a paper trail. Florida and fourteen other states use machines that don't.
Jennings not only won't concede but seeks a new election district-wide, in all five counties, because, as she maintains in her lawsuit, touch-screen voting machines in the most populous county, Sarasota, either malfunctioned or were poorly programmed, resulting in nearly 18,000 lost votes. One out of six, or an unusually high 16%, of Sarasota electronic ballots recorded no House vote, compared to a 5% or less House "undervote" in the rest of the district or by 2% of Sarasota voters using paper absentee ballots. Since Jennings won 53% of the counted and recounted votes in Sarasota, she contends the alleged machine mishap cost her the election. Applying her winning percentage to the missing votes would garner more than enough (close to 900) votes to overcome the official losing margin.
A second lawsuit, brought by the activist groups People for the American Way and the Electronic Freedom Foundation, filed on behalf of allegedly disenfranchised voters, seeks a re-vote in Sarasota County. Both suits are consolidated before State Judge William Gary, in Tallahassee, who is considering whether experts can examine the machines – both the hardware and software, known as the source code – as the plaintiffs demand. Manufacturer ES&S, the lead defendant, opposes this, citing trade secrets, and will contend the visual design of the ballot by county election officials was the problem. As the CBS Evening News Investigative Unit previously reported, E-mail from the head county election official during two weeks of pre-Election Day early voting indicate election supervisor Kathy Dent was aware that an unusually large number of voters were "overlooking" the House race. Plaintiffs say she took an inadequate, minimal response constituting negligence.
There are precedents for both ordering a new election for federal office and for denying a Congress member his seat. Jennings is not yet asking to be seated in the House instead of Buchanan. Her deadline for formally contesting the election is tomorrow, Dec. 20th. Beyond that, the incoming House Democratic leadership has the option to deny Buchanan his seat, a potential move Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean has endorsed. A spokesperson for incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says, "We're monitoring the situation and will see what the court rules."
© 2006 CBS Interactive Inc.. All Rights Reserved. (AP)
But the disputed election for Florida's 13th congressional district, an open seat where Republican Vern Buchanan has been certified as the winner by 369 votes over Democrat Christine Jennings, could prompt the House Democratic leadership to deny Buchanan his seat when the 110th Congress convenes on Jan. 4. And the seemingly messed up election may spark a federal mandate that all electronic voting machines, used by 40% of voters in November, generate a paper trail. Florida and fourteen other states use machines that don't.
(AP)
Jennings not only won't concede but seeks a new election district-wide, in all five counties, because, as she maintains in her lawsuit, touch-screen voting machines in the most populous county, Sarasota, either malfunctioned or were poorly programmed, resulting in nearly 18,000 lost votes. One out of six, or an unusually high 16%, of Sarasota electronic ballots recorded no House vote, compared to a 5% or less House "undervote" in the rest of the district or by 2% of Sarasota voters using paper absentee ballots. Since Jennings won 53% of the counted and recounted votes in Sarasota, she contends the alleged machine mishap cost her the election. Applying her winning percentage to the missing votes would garner more than enough (close to 900) votes to overcome the official losing margin.
A second lawsuit, brought by the activist groups People for the American Way and the Electronic Freedom Foundation, filed on behalf of allegedly disenfranchised voters, seeks a re-vote in Sarasota County. Both suits are consolidated before State Judge William Gary, in Tallahassee, who is considering whether experts can examine the machines – both the hardware and software, known as the source code – as the plaintiffs demand. Manufacturer ES&S, the lead defendant, opposes this, citing trade secrets, and will contend the visual design of the ballot by county election officials was the problem. As the CBS Evening News Investigative Unit previously reported, E-mail from the head county election official during two weeks of pre-Election Day early voting indicate election supervisor Kathy Dent was aware that an unusually large number of voters were "overlooking" the House race. Plaintiffs say she took an inadequate, minimal response constituting negligence.
There are precedents for both ordering a new election for federal office and for denying a Congress member his seat. Jennings is not yet asking to be seated in the House instead of Buchanan. Her deadline for formally contesting the election is tomorrow, Dec. 20th. Beyond that, the incoming House Democratic leadership has the option to deny Buchanan his seat, a potential move Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean has endorsed. A spokesperson for incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says, "We're monitoring the situation and will see what the court rules."
