The state has declared that Democrat Christine Jennings lost
to Republican Vern Buchanan by 369 votes. But 18,000
Sarasota County electronic ballots did not record a choice
in the race, and Jennings contends that the number is
abnormally high and that the machines lost the votes.
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Original source URL:
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/122106S.shtml
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Florida-Election.html
December 21, 2006
Congress Asked to Intervene in Fla. Race
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 10:40 a.m. ET
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- The Democrat who narrowly lost to a Republican in the
race to replace Rep. Katherine Harris asked Congress on Wednesday for an
investigation.
The state has declared that Democrat Christine Jennings lost to Republican Vern
Buchanan by 369 votes. But 18,000 Sarasota County electronic ballots did not
record a choice in the race, and Jennings contends that the number is abnormally
high and that the machines lost the votes.
She filed with the House clerk an official contest of the election results in
Florida's 13th Congressional District.
She said she will ask Congress to consider ordering a revote if her legal
challenge in Florida fails. She is seeking to obtain the programming code for
the touch-screen voting machines to determine whether a bug or malicious
programming could have lost votes. The state has found no evidence of
malfunction.
The company that makes the machines, Electronic Systems & Software Inc., is
fighting the effort, saying its programming is a trade secret.
''It's not about me. It's about a revote,'' Jennings said by telephone from
Washington. ''I am not trying in any way to tell Congress what they should do. I
am simply doing this for the integrity of our voting system.''
Buchanan is to be sworn in Jan. 4. He has 30 days to respond to the challenge.
''Our primary concern is representing our constituency,'' Buchanan spokeswoman
Sally Tibbetts said. ''Nevertheless, we fully intend to respond.''
Congress is unlikely to intervene immediately, said Salley Collins, a
spokeswoman for the Committee on House Administration. The usual practice in
such cases is to wait for the state-declared winner to be sworn in and a court
to rule, then investigate if the candidate wishes to continue contesting the
case.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press
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