St Pete Times: "Butt out, Dean; Buchanan won." Odd editorial for them.

[madfloridian]

I was disappointed in this column. I thought better of this paper, that it would present things in a fair way.

Time for Florida to shut up, butt out, and let this take its course.

Butt out, Dean; Buchanan won

"Jennings accomplished what she set out to do with her initial protest. The state Division of Elections did a thorough audit of touch-screen voting machines used in Sarasota and found no system breakdowns or abnormalities. While that doesn't resolve the mystery, analysis by the media and election experts indicates what likely happened. It appears ballot design played a key role in the undervote. The District 13 candidates were listed on a screen dominated by the governor's race, so voters who hurried could have overlooked them. Many voters reported spotting the mistake on the review screen and correcting it.

Unfortunately, Jennings is still blaming voting machine malfunction for the outcome despite contrary evidence. Perhaps that's because the only reason a court would consider ordering a new election is proof of widespread fraud or machine error. While Floridians should be concerned and election officials more careful about ballot design, there isn't sufficient reason to throw out the results.

It would be a big mistake for House Democrats to heed Dean's advice. No election is perfect, and Americans likely would resent a partisan political effort to interfere in the will of voters, no matter how misguided or inattentive they were in casting their ballots.

Instead of stirring up voter discontent, Jennings should put her energy into planning a political future. Buchanan will have to face the voters again in two years, so it is not in Jennings' best interest to come across as a sore loser if she wants to run again. She has raised some legitimate questions about the voting process in Florida, which election officials have taken seriously and investigated thoroughly. It seems improbable that 18,000 voters intentionally skipped the hotly contested congressional race, but no evidence of fraud or equipment malfunction has been found.

It's time for Jennings to bow out and for Democrats to stop fanning fears about electronic voting machines without much more than suspicions."

(The interview they refer to is at 11:00 today on Bay News 9.)

[iamjoy]

1. The People Just Didn't Vote?

pardon me, but that's BS. Why were there so many more under-votes in Democratic precincts than Republican?

OTOH, I don't think a new election is practical or fair. What about equal protection? Why should these citizens get a re-vote when other people in other areas with possible (or even likely) voting irregularities did not? Furthermore, the climate is different now than on election day, which could influence people to vote differently than they might have on election day. And, what would turn out be like? Maybe the voter really cared to vote for governor and/or senator, but didn't care that much about Congress. Is that voter going to show up to vote JUST for a Congressional race? Or, will the voter care MORE now knowing just how close it is?

However, this makes the case for a paper trail. If we had a paper trail that showed the Congressional race was missing, then we would have a case for a new vote because we would have irrefutable proof that these people were denied their equal protection in the first place. All the other concerns then become secondary.

[Red Zelda]

2. "No election is perfect"????

Real journalism there, guys. Go back to covering football.

[krispos42]

3. Congress should just swear in Jennings

Like the Repubs did in San Diego last summer. Hastert didn't need any election results or certification to swear in Bilbray.

[rzemanfl]

4. My response:

I expected more of the Times than this dog's breakfast of Republican talking points. Our subscription will not be renewed. Be a "sore loser" over that. Anything else I might have to say would not be printable.

[madfloridian]

5. Tampa Trib also calls for Jennings to drop it.

Congressmen in Florida are calling for outsiders to stay out of the state and back off this election. That's bad enough. Now all the media here is calling for the same thing.

Florida GOP congressman says don't let "outsiders" into state demanding new election

The Trib thinks it proves that more Republicans decided not to vote? None of these papers in Florida seems to see the central issue.

http://www.tbo.com/news/opinion/editorials/MGBG5ZXNBVE.html?imw=Y

"Jennings would use statistics, not vote counts, to show that most of the voters who for some reason failed to vote in her race would actually have voted for her. After all, Jennings the Democrat carried what has traditionally been a Republican county.

But then wouldn't that suggest more Republicans than Democrats chose not to vote in the race?

Losing by 369 votes after a vicious campaign and in a season when Democrats were winning has to be a bitter pill to swallow, and Jennings will forever wonder just exactly why things didn't go her way.

But voters made their choice, and without a verified paper trail to prove otherwise, Jennings came up short. Now it's time to stop."

And the Bradenton Herald:
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/opinion/16061052.htm

"Give it up
Jennings should concede race to Buchanan
Republican Vern Buchanan has been officially certified as the winner of the District 13 congressional race. The state Elections Canvassing Commission said Monday that Buchanan won by 369 votes over Democrat Christine Jennings.

And that should settle what was one of the most bitterly-fought and closest election battles in memory, with Buchanan's fractional margin out of more than 237,000 votes cast once again emphasizing the importance of citizens exercising their right and privilege to vote.

Disservice to democracy

But the lawsuit is likely to have the opposite effect. The more the Jennings camp - aided by out-of-state advocates for the Democratic Party and other special interests - casts doubts on the election process, the less likely voters are to believe in and participate in that process. This will do a far greater disservice to democracy than one disputed race in one election cycle."

[Capn Sunshine]

6. Gee, I thought they were finally addressing Florida 2000

.