A Florida circuit court judge has ordered the Palm Beach election board to make the county's disputed ballots available for inspection to Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group, this morning. Circuit Court Judge Jorge Labarga said that Florida's public record law allows citizens to inspect ballots.
"We're looking at the ballots to see if there were any irregularities or fraud," said Larry Klayman, Judicial Watch chairman. "We want to make sure it [the count] was done publicly and honestly."
The group, which has tangled repeatedly with the Clinton administration over various matters, is also seeking access to disputed ballots in Miami-Dade, which has granted the request, and in Broward, which has refused.
Klayman said his group will review 5,000 to 10,000 ballots in Palm Beach with the aid of an accounting firm that specializes in elections and election fraud. He said more than 400 citizen volunteers will be on hand to observe.
County spokeswoman Denise Cote said that the only person who will handle the ballots is supervisor of elections Theresa LePore. "This is an unprecedented request," Cote said. "It could be a long and very tedious process."
Klayman said the review could last several days. He will ask a circuit court judge in Broward County this morning to compel the Broward election board to make that county's ballots available. The Florida Democratic Party plans to file a motion this morning to stop the ballot inspection in Palm Beach.
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Judicial Watch will be able to report on what is really going on. The media and the democRATS have had enough time to spin it their way, now it is our turn.