Florida voters file lawsuit over confusing ballot sheet

3:00 PM

WEST PALM BEACH - Some voters in Florida's Palm Beach County filed a lawsuit today calling for a fresh vote because of a ballot sheet layout that they say led some people to mistakenly vote for the wrong candidate.

At issue were votes that Democratic Party supporters said went to Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan when they were meant for Vice President Al Gore , and which may turn out to be crucial in tipping the balance over to Texas Gov. George W. Bush in the historically close presidential election.

Lois Frankel, a Democratic state representative, said the lawsuit from a group of voters was filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, saying the ballot sheets violated election laws because they were confusing. She had no other details.

Just 3,400 votes were cast for Buchanan in Palm Beach County - but that was enough to matter in a race so close that the winner of the U.S. presidency hinged on a recount in Florida.

Fewer than 1,800 votes separated Gore and Bush in the Sunshine State. Buchanan polled less than one percent nationwide.

Some Democratic Party supporters were convinced that there was no way the county, which is a Democratic stronghold, would have produced several times more votes for Buchanan than nearby Florida counties.

"I'm appalled ... these votes could have made the difference," said one voter, Ronnie Epstein, who said she voted for Gore but only "by the grace of God."

Epstein said she almost punched the hole corresponding to a vote for Buchanan and then spent several minutes puzzling out how to line up her candidate with the right punch hole.

"These 3,400 votes would have been enough to put Gore and Lieberman into office," said Epstein, adding that if she found the ballot paper a problem then senior citizens in a county with a large population of retired people were likely to have been more confused.

The Palm Beach County ballot listed candidates on two facing pages of the ballot booklet with punch holes for each candidate in a single column between the facing pages.

The Democratic ticket, Gore-Lieberman, was the second one listed on the left page. But the punch hole for Gore-Lieberman was the third one down in the column.

A thick black arrow pointed from the Democratic ticket to the corresponding hole, but some voters felt the system was still not "intuitive."

"A lot of people were confused," said Frankel, adding phones at her office had been ringing off the hook with people complaining.

"People are upset and disgusted, they want a new election," she said.

Frankel added that if the margin in the vote in Florida remained at a few thousand votes "I think it would be a terrible misjustice if this election were settled because of a misleading ballot paper."

She said that it should be easy to verify whether people had voted Buchanan by mistake - for example if a ballot sheet showed otherwise straight votes for Democratic candidates, then a Buchanan vote would be very unlikely.

"It would be time-consuming but possible," she said.

Frankel said some people in the county who mistakenly put in a vote for Buchanan tore up their votes when they realized they had made a mistake and then were allowed to vote again.

But others realized they had punched the wrong hole only when they had deposited their ballot sheet and it was too late to go back.

Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, asked about the ballot on ABC, said the state had no control over concerns about the individual ballots and any challenge would have to be through the courts.

"The ballot was constructed legally, (and) designed legally. ... All of the candidates had the opportunity to view this prior to the election to suggest the changes that were necessary," she said.

State Gov. Jeb Bush, younger brother of the Republican candidate, said in answer to questions at a Tallahassee news conference on Wednesday that the ballot design should have been challenged before the vote.

In Florida, state law dictates the order in which the candidates are listed on the ballot, but allows local elections officials to determine how the ballot is laid out.

It was clear there was complaining going on well before polling closed on Tuesday and the numbers became tight enough for the Buchanan vote to be a real issue.

Epstein said she called a string of local media early on this morning, soon after realizing that the ballot sheet could be misleading.

Florida recount due tomorrow, but may not be decisive

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