As I recall, Kate & Jeb pled No Contest, and there was vaguely a whimper in the press.
Florida, counties settle NAACP suit over 2000 election
Wednesday, September 4, 2002
By CATHERINE WILSON, Associated Press
http://www.naplesnews.com/02/09/florida/d812114a.htmMIAMI — Ending a dispute over the 2000 presidential election, the state and two counties filed papers Tuesday to settle a lawsuit from civil rights groups over widespread voting problems.
Hillsborough and Orange counties, as well as the state, were the only other remaining defendants in the case, which ended without trial. Five other counties settled earlier.
"It's a good thing for voters," said voters' attorney Anita Hodgkiss. "It gives a lot more accountability to the voters."
David Host, spokesman for the state Division of Elections, released a five-paragraph joint statement saying both sides were pleased to announce "a fair and equitable settlement."
The agreement is likely to downplay election practices as a re-election issue for Gov. Jeb Bush. A call to his office after business hours was not immediately returned.
Voters claimed in the federal class-action lawsuit that they were disenfranchised during the election ultimately decided by the courts. President Bush's 537-vote margin over Al Gore in Florida swung the outcome.
Key provisions of the settlement would create a state coordinator for election law compliance, report on future election day problems, correct mistakes in a purge of convicted felons and expand voter rights on provisional ballots. There were no admissions of wrongdoing.
Voters' attorneys said the settlement goes beyond laws adopted since the state became the butt of jokes over the infamous butterfly ballot, hanging chad and antiquated punch card voting equipment.
"It's a long time coming. We're glad to finally be here," said Thomasina Williams, an attorney for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
The new coordinator would devote at least three-quarters of his time to looking for election problems and solutions and producing reports before and after elections.
In the purge, Hodgkiss said only 9,000 of 54,000 people removed from voting lists fully matched name, date of birth, race, gender, driver's license and Social Security numbers.
The state, counties and a contractor who developed the purge database in 2000 agreed under separate settlements to correct mistaken voter removals.
"This agreement puts some careful parameters about how you match that information so you don't end up removing people wrongfully," Hodgkiss said.
That provision may serve as a pattern for other states considering how to integrate databases to update voter lists, she said.
Provisional ballots were approved by lawmakers to allow people who don't appear on voters rolls to cast ballots. But voters must be in the correct precinct for their votes to count.
The settlement requires election officials to notify provisional voters if their ballots aren't counted as a signal of continuing problems.
Hodgkiss said she does not expect the settlement to be in effect before the November general election because the U.S. Justice Department likely will be required to review it for compliance with federal election law.
http://www.aclufl.org/naacpvharrissettlement090302.htmlhttp://www.aclufl.org/body_naacp_v__harris.htmlhttp://www.aclufl.org/racialimpactrelease.html
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