Election 2004: Vote Early and OftenNovember 21, 2000
Wednesday, October 27, 2004, 01:07 AM
NYT Headline: "Florida's Justices Zero In on Recount Deadlines".
I saw this oral argument live, on C-SPAN, though I can't remember now whether it was via Internet feed or on TV. I think it must have been Internet feed because I was most likely at work, not working, and distracting everyone else on the floor with the broadcast. Well, hell, it was an easy time to be distracted, with history in the making. C-SPAN must have gotten banner ratings that quarter.
Geez, I'm just too tired to try to dig out the good excerpts from the arguments now, given that it's 1 a.m. Consider this a placeholder for the rest of the article.
I will, however, quote from an editorial "Thanksgiving 2000".
"This is going to be a Thanksgiving to remember. Never had Americans had more to be grateful for. No matter what other burdens afflict us, at least we are not counting votes in Broward County.
...
Those of us who live in New York are planning to give thanks that we reside in a chad-free zone. After decades of complaining about the ancient voting machines, we suddenly appreciate our good fortune. Sure, they break down a lot, but they're really excellent when it comes to limiting the voters to one candidate per race. Legend has it that New York produces more election law litigation every year than the rest of the nation combined, but this month somebody else has finally taken away the title. Just the other day Broadway Democrats, a political club in Manhattan, was forced to send out fliers for its post-election symposium with the name of the speaker left blank. 'We couldn't find an election lawyer -- they're all in Florida,' explained one of the organizers."
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