What Katherine Harris Should Have Said

April 18, 2002

by Margie Burns

Here is what the Florida Secretary of State should have said, on November 10, 2000:

Good evening, gentlemen and ladies. I am here this evening to reaffirm what you already know, and to ask your support in applying it. As you all know, we are faced today with an honor and a challenge. The state of Florida stands poised to deliver the next President of the United States. After we count votes as fairly and accurately as possible, the winner of this state's twenty-five electoral votes will probably enter the White House.

As you also know by now, citizen reports and affidavits indicate that tens of thousands of ballots have been discarded as overvotes and undervotes, frustrating the will of the voters. The undervotes alone, caused by machine malfunctions that we have had before, could change the outcome of the election. As you also know, Florida election law calls for a manual recount where one is appropriately requested and could change the outcome. This state has recounted votes as recently as the last election.

I call on all counties in Florida, declared for either candidate, immediately to begin a hand recount of disputed ballots where one is requested, in accordance with procedure mandated by state law, and to carry on the recount with all deliberate speed until it is completed. I anticipate that the process will take no longer than two weeks. At that time I will certify returns from all counties and the absentee votes.

Early reports indicate that Mr. Gore carried the state, narrowly; an accurate recount can confirm unofficial tallies if they're right, or correct them if they're wrong. We Republicans in office have an obligation to look beyond immediate self-interest and to anticipate the consequences of our actions.

If we were to impede a recount, we would be accused of using public office for partisan gain. As all you who are election judges know, at every election, when voting machines break down, we fix them; we don't tell the voters, "tough luck." If we did so now, we would be accused of interfering with the electoral process at the very voting booth. If Mr. Bush's campaign were perceived as colluding with us or pressuring us, the polling place and vote tabulating might be seen as no more credible than the campaigns. If we sued to prevent a recount, we would increase public disesteem of attorneys and judges and would draw the courts into the election and the election into the courts, to the benefit of neither. If media commentators gave equal time to proposals of counting votes and of discarding votes, public trust in the news media would further deteriorate. And, at worst -- although I hope this will not happen -- smirching a scrupulous recount with accusations of "stealing" might seem a call not to volunteerism but to violence.

Back in much more trying times, Abraham Lincoln reminded this nation that "The ballot is stronger than the bullet" (May 19, 1856). We have an obligation to prove him right, even in Miami.

As a fallible human being, I admit to the human urge of curiosity. Common sense tells us that whoever thwarts vote counting will thwart the public's curiosity. If we impeded the tabulating before it was completed, that would seem proof to millions, that we wanted to prevent the outcome of the election from being known. In other words, we would have to assert either that we already knew the outcome of the election, regardless of contest, or that we wanted the election over, regardless even of knowing the outcome. This is not exactly the privileges and immunities clause in action.

I admit also to some partisanship here; William Jefferson Clinton may not have a legacy to preserve, but I do. Are we going to disappoint young Republicans who demonstrated for a recount on principle, and stand by while grandmothers wear out their wheelchair rubber on our streets?

For Democrats, this action will set an example, not to delay or alter an outcome accurately tabulated. For Republicans, I rely on your support in this action. As you all remember, Florida at one time weighed in at the eleventh hour to elect a Republican, Rutherford B. Hayes, who then pulled federal troops from the South. Hayes' motto was "He serves his party best who serves his country best."

Thank you and God bless you.

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Margie Burns | margie.burns@verizon.net