By
Cory Spiller
Why is it that every time they recount the ballots in a new county Al Gore seems to get a few more votes? Why is that even though Bush has a clear lead in Florida he attempts to block recount efforts? What is he so scared of? He's not only scared of losing the election, he's scared of the will of the people.
If the nation wasn't apathetic before the election, we certainly couldn't care less now. Our will has been expressed, poked at, ran throw a machine and spat out as a lifeless pile of indecision. We kick the pile around a little to figure out if it was Gore or Bush we wanted, but really it's just too close to call. The nation is divided nearly perfectly in half, but neither side desperately wants to know who the next president will be. The Republicans wouldn't be too heartbroken if their, smirking, sarcastic, frat boy lost; life wasn't too bad under Clinton. And frankly the Democrats have already faced the horror that would exist with a Republican House, Senate and White House. Somehow, most Democrats were able to get to sleep on Nov. 7 believing Bush was president.
Nevertheless the will of the people must be uncovered, and apparently it's somewhere in the rather phallic-looking state of Florida. The first vote by machine went to Bush. The second vote by machine seems to have gone to Bush again, but by a much smaller margin; from an initial 1700 vote lead to a 300 vote lead. Even though some small counties only give Gore a few extra votes, and others raise Bush's tally, the machine votes aren't accurate. Logically then, Democrats have asked for hand counts in many counties. Bush got pretty itchy at this suggestion. Even though he has continually stated that he has the patience to wait out the recount so that he can, once and for all, claim his presidency legitimately, Bush went ahead and asked a federal judge to stop the recounting by hand. Why would Georgie do this if he is so certain of his victory?
Judge Terry P. Lewis, County Circuit Judge who heard the Bush campaign argument, decided that the federal courts had no say in whether a state should do a hand count. The hand count isn't just checking for ballots stuck together or missing, the counters are looking for what is known as a "chad." A chad is a little piece of paper left hanging on a ballot after a voter doesn't press hard enough to completely punch out the box next to the candidates name.
What is a "chad" really? It's a Republican conspiracy of the highest degree! Can't you just picture those old, feeble, ladies and gents from Palm Beach County squeezing as hard as they can on the hole punch trying with all their might to vote for Gore, only to come up with a "chad." OK, it's not a Republican conspiracy, but it is a voter irregularity. The truth is that there are probably just as many old weaklings that voted for Bush as Gore, so why is it that Bush is the one trying to stop the recount?
After the federal judge decided that the hand recount would continue, the Republicans pulled another trick out of their collective sleeve, they tapped the shoulder of Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris. Harris set a cut-off for all votes to be tallied by Tuesday at 5 p.m. State law gives counties the right to complete a recount but the secretary of state isn't giving them the time to do it. If Bush is so sure of his victory, and wants to remove every shadow of doubt, why would he try to stop these hand counts?
Deciding who will be the President of the United States shouldn't come down to a few "chads," in a weenie little county in Florida, this election should not come down to which party has the best lawyers; Florida does not need another recount, it needs a revote. With confusing ballots, rumored voter intimidation, and suspicious partisan activities, Florida is in absolute chaos. They need to scrap Florida's presidential votes, and do it over. We need a bipartisan effort to make the most simple ballot the senile residents of Palm Beach county have ever seen, and try with all our might to run a clean election.
