2000 recount still on the minds of Kerry supporters

By KEN THOMAS
Associated Press Writer
HOLLYWOOD, Fla.
The 2000 recount may be history for some voters, but for Nancy Geneivive the 36-day struggle still brings to mind two words: stolen election.

So when the Coral Springs artist tossed presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry a question Monday about his plans to challenge President Bush, she summed it up this way, "What can we do to prevent him from stealing the election again?"

Kerry encountered Floridians still sore about the disputed election at a town hall meeting with about 500 supporters in Broward County, a Democratic bastion with serious voting irregularities in 2000. Bush defeated Democrat Al Gore by 537 votes in Florida after the U.S. Supreme Court stopped a state recount.

Kerry said he would assemble a legal team to guard against any irregularities in Florida this fall, focusing on problematic precincts and seeking injunctions where necessary to guarantee voting rights.

"I guarantee, not only do we want a record level of turnout to vote, we want to guarantee that every vote is counted," he said to cheers. "I don't think we ought to have any vote cast in America that cannot be traced and properly recounted."

Kerry spent the day in Florida, meeting with fund-raisers over breakfast in Hollywood, stopping at a Delray Beach deli for lunch and greeting voters at rallies in West Palm Beach and Tampa. Outside the library in downtown West Palm Beach, Kerry noted that it would serve as a polling place.

"This is the place that reminds us that not only does every vote in America count but that every vote in America is going to be counted," Kerry said.

In Tallahassee, a Catholic based peace organization called Monday for international observers in November. Dave Robinson, Washington-based national coordinator of Pax Christi USA, said the group will help monitor the general election by assigning volunteers to poll sites, especially in Broward, Duval, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties - the main trouble spots in 2000.

U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Boca Raton, meanwhile, said he was filing a federal lawsuit over the lack of a paper ballot connected to electronic voting machines.

Gov. Jeb Bush, the president's brother, called it "an organized effort to try to create doubt about our election system." He called that the state's elections laws, implemented following the 2000 race, "models for the rest of the nation."

"This is all part of some politically motivated thing that tries to scare people that somehow their vote's not going to count and that is just hogwash, hawg - wash," Bush said.

Kerry was using the trip to appeal to Florida's sizable elderly population, criticizing the prescription drug package approved by Congress and vowing to safeguard Social Security.

"Our seniors deserve the best care America has to offer," Kerry said. "What they do not deserve is another four years of broken promises and failed policies from George W. Bush." A Kerry supporter donned a mask of the president and hoisted a sign that read, "I'm voting 4 Kerry."

Kerry spoke on the eve of the Florida presidential primary, a contest that no longer carries any weight but allows the Massachusetts senator to campaign in a battleground state. Both parties expect a spirited battle for Florida's 27 electoral votes after Bush's narrowly decided election.

Broward County holds the state's largest concentration of Democratic voters, and party activists regularly point to the region as crucial for voter turnout. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson noted he had a 200,000-vote advantage in Broward County in 2000.

"I want you to top that and make it 300,000 for him," Nelson said.

That election still haunts Geneivive, who didn't encounter any problems at the voting booth but heard friends constantly rehash tales of trouble casting ballots. Even now, Geneivive wonders whether her vote landed in Gore's column.

"I think my vote was counted, but who knows?" she asked.

Sherry Natelson, a Hollywood attorney, told Kerry she would happily volunteer as a monitor. She said she worries about problems with touchscreen voting machines, the lack of a paper printout and the possibility of outside interference.

"There are already studies that they could go into the election systems and hack them," Natelson said.

U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, said plans are under way to have a team of election monitors to quickly respond to voter complaints.

"As we see signs of votes not being counted or faulty machines, we're going to attack them. We're going to be very aggressive on behalf of democracy," Meek said.