It's Not OverFrequently-asked Questions updated 2:35 pm EST, 01-08-00 This FAQ is retained here, as part of the record on why we opposed the Florida Electors in Congress on January 6, 2000.
Although this effort was not successful, we are proud to have stood with so many people for a principle in which we deeply believe.
The importance of a principle is not determined by the number of people who agree with you.
That part is not over, and never will be.
For updates on how to stay involved in safeguarding and extending
democracry in America, see:http://www.democrats.com
This FAQ explains TrustthePeople.com, a campaign launched by Democrats.com to enable Members of Congress to formally challenge the electors from Florida when Congress meets in special session at 1:00 pm. on Saturday, January 6 to accept or reject Electoral College votes in the presidential election.
What are you trying to do?
We are collecting and evaluating specific credible allegations of voter fraud in the Florida presidential election so that Members of Congress have a foundation to challenge the legitimacy of the Florida electors when they meet on 6 January.
Hasn't this been done already in all the cases that were brought after election day? No. The cases that worked their way through the courts had to do with the design of the ballot (Palm Beach) or unfairly favoring Republican voters in the distribution of absentee ballot requests (Seminole and Martin) or with the counting of "undervotes" meaning ballots for which no vote was able to be read by the tabulation equipment (the Gore contest).
Aren't the Miami Herald, New York Times and other media organizations already examining ballots in Florida?
The news media is focused exclusively on counting undervotes to determine Vice President Gore's unrecognized margin of victory in Florida. We support those efforts, but ultimately they are without legal recourse. The path we are pursuing can provide a solid foundation for Members of Congress to reject Florida's electoral votes on 6 January.
What specifically are you investigating?
We have issued public records inspection requests in 5 counties where there was post-election ballot manipulation to reduce the number of overvotes (Jackson), a huge number of overvotes in just the presidential race (Gadsden), statistical anomalies in the election results (Liberty and Calhoun) and unlawful removal of voters from the voter rolls between the August primary and the November election (Duval). We are also investigating a conspiracy that involved controlling precincts in Broward through workers that enabled the fraudulent introduction of pre-punched ballots into certain precincts, a conspiracy to generate fraudulent absentee ballots, unlawful activities designed to suppress voter turnout, including the purposeful assignment of non-working voting machines to precincts that were heavily black and Democratic, and illegal voting by thousands of residents of South Florida who are Cuban citizens.
How are you going about the investigation?
We have hired the Minnick law firm in Tallahassee and Jerome Deutsch Investigations, a private investigator in Miami.
Any press coverage yet?
Yes, several stories and press releases, including the main paper Tallahassee, Salon.com. Click on this link: Press Updates to read. Print, electronic and Web-based press are now following this story very closely.
I thought the law said that if Florida's election results were certified by December 12th, then they could not be challenged in Congress.
It has already been conceded by both the Florida Supreme Court and the US Supreme Court that the original certification of election returns was in violation of Florida law and therefore not lawfully certified under 3 USC Sec. 6. Therefore, the Florida Electors are subject to Congressional challenge under 3 USC Sec. 15.
How much money do you need?
Our total target budget is $200K Of that we have over $25K on hand right now. We can do a credible job for as little as $50K. Contributions are not tax deductible.
Who are you?
We are Democrats.com, the largest independent community of Democratic activists on the Internet. Our 15,000 members and subscribers believe that George Bush has not lawfully been elected president. We were the first organization to put out on the Internet the affidavits that Palm Beach voters needed to complete to register their complaint about the butterfly ballot, and we provided Internet campaign support and media relations support for the plaintiff and the law firm in the Seminole County absentee ballot case. Although part of our business involves serving as a vendor of Internet campaign services to candidates and party committees our efforts are not controlled by nor coordinated with those of the Democratic National Committee or any of its affiliates. For more about us please visit Democrats.com.
How can I contribute?
You can contribute at TrustthePeople.com via credit card. Contact David Lytel via email, at florida@democrats.com, for contributions larger than you want put place on a credit card.
How can I keep up to date with the latest news about the challenge?
Please send a blank e-mail message to this email address: dem-daily-subscribe@egroups.com to sign up for our daily update.
Do you expect the challenge of Florida's electors to succeed?
The statute governing challenges to electors require that both the House and the Senate agree. If not the challenge fails. However, we believe that a forceful challenge will have an electrifying and dramatic effect on the unity of the Democrats in Congress. It will demonstrate their public support and strengthen both their resolve and their ability to challenge some of Bush's questionable cabinet appointments, and resist elements of the Bush agenda that are not in the people's interests over the next four years. A challenge will also permit Senate Democrats to negotiate with the Republicans for a full and complete investigation of Florida election fraud by the Department of Justice and hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and will help to drive the movement for complete, top-down election reform before 2002.
So no, we don't reasonably expect that this challenge will stop George W. Bush from being inaugurated on January 20. On the other hand, no one expected the bizarre events following the election on November 7, and this has been a season of political surprises that confounds every reasonable expectation.
But didn't Al Gore concede already?
There is no provision for the concession of candidates in the Constitution. There is, however, a process set out in law for Congress to consider challenges to electoral votes. With all due respect to Vice President Gore, it is not up to him or to any single person to decide how much election fraud we are going to accept. That is to be decided by us as a people assembled in Congress.
Isn't it potentially harmful to the nation to interrupt the orderly transition to the new Bush Administration, at this late stage?
It is a hard thing to do, to interrupt the process at this juncture; but we believe it is worth the time and effort, to stimulate consideration of what is happening to our core values. The concept of "one person, one vote", established by the Constitution, won by the blood of the Civil War and ratified by the Supreme Court in dozens of cases, is far too valuable to simply suspend this week, in order to smooth the way for George W. Bush to take the oath of office. The nation is not harmed by a couple of hours of debate on Saturday. This is not about Gore v. Bush; that's over. It is about the foundation of American democracy, which has endured for 225 years because we have never willingly turned a blind eye to election fraud.
How can I join a discussion about all this?
Please send a blank e-mail message to this email: dem-florida-strategy-subscribe@egroups.com.
