Florida Governor Backs Lawmakers' Efforts to Bypass Courts and Select Electors <
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"Earlier this week, the Republican leaders of the committee announced that they had set aside two hours today for members of the public to comment on the possibility of a special session. Fearing that the public comment session would be dominated by Republican partisans, organizers in the Democratic Party quickly rounded up dozens of people from Palm Beach, Duval and Miami-Dade Counties who were eager to share Election Day horror stories with the Legislature.
Many flew here on Tuesday night on a jet chartered by the Democratic Party, which also paid for their rooms at the local Days Inn, and then bused them to the Capitol complex at 7:15 this morning so that they would be the first in line at the sign-up desk for public remarks.
The strategy was a smashing success for Democrats.
The group made up 68 of the first 72 people who signed up to speak. As a result, anyone watching the proceedings on C-Span or news broadcasts was treated to a parade of voters who, one after another, implored the committee members not to intervene in the election.
One man, a Baptist preacher from Belle Glade, drew loud applause when he likened the Republican leaders of the Legislature to bank robbers. An irate young mother said, "Knowing what I know about what you are thinking of doing, I wish the next election were tomorrow." She drew applause, too, as did 69-year-old Sylvia Shapiro of West Palm Beach, who told the panel, "I don't need somebody else to vote for me."
When Senator Lisa Carlton, one of the Republican leaders of the committee, tried to interrupt or limit some comments, she met with stubborn defiance. One 19-year-old woman said, "I drove seven and a half hours by myself, and I'm not going to be stopped." By the time the two hours allotted for public remarks had ended with the 62nd speaker, not a single Bush supporter had spoken.
This left Alec Yasinsac, No. 64 on the list and an ardent Republican, fuming. "It was an organized effort to prevent opposing views," Mr. Yasinsac said."
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/30/politics/30LEGI.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5070&en=977f9f36fb476644&ex=1163653200