No count, not recount, is the issue
U.S. Civil Rights Commission Charges Florida Voters Were Denied Right to Vote

While the media focused its attention on dimpled chads and recounts, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission quietly examined the real issue in the November 2000 Florida election--the no count.

Supported by 30 hours of sworn testimony from some 100 witnesses, the commission has issued a report, which determined that the Florida presidential elections appear to have been marred by massive voter disenfranchisement.

“It is not a question of a recount or even an accurate count, but more pointedly the issue is those whose exclusion from the right to vote amounted to a ‘No Count,’” the commission decided.

The commission found extensive evidence of irregularities that prevented qualified voters, mostly African-American, Haitian and Latino, from participating in the Florida election, including the following:

• While key state officials anticipated a major increase in voter turnout based on registration figures, they did not provide all precincts with adequate resources to meet their needs.

• At least one unauthorized police checkpoint was set up on Election Day.

• Qualified voters were removed from registration rolls based upon unreliable information from a state-sponsored effort to purge possible voters with felonies.

• Many African-Americans could not vote because their polling places did not have the means to confirm their eligibility.

• Some polling places closed early or moved without notice, and many Haitian and Puerto Rican voters were not provided required language assistance.

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