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| LEGISLATIVE ACTION? | |
 November 30, 2000  |
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Four members of Florida's legislature discuss the possibility of convening a special session to pick a slate of presidential electors.
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Senator Laurent, let me start with you. JOHN LAURENT: We heard testimony over the last couple of days from constitutional experts that we had to be in the position to protect the 25 electoral votes from Florida, which expresses the will of the six million voters in Florida. Some of the experts testified that December 12 was the drop-dead date. Some testified it was December 18. But, in any event, if we have to act by December 12, it takes a period of time for a legislative body to go through that process. And we had to be in the posture to be ready to act if necessary on December 12. RAY SUAREZ: And you feel that whatever happens in the courts between now and next Tuesday will not make your job more complicated, moot, less necessary, more necessary?
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RAY SUAREZ: Senator Klein, one of the constitutional experts, Einer Elhauge of Harvard University said, in the end, my recommendation is like the Boy Scouts: Be prepared. Have a set of delegates already chosen. He said there was a risk that Florida would end up casting no electoral votes and it was worth avoiding that. What's your reaction?
RAY SUAREZ: So Mike Fasano, you want to avoid that possibility, the possible selection of two slates at all costs? MIKE FASANO: Well, I think what we want to do is to be sure that the six million voters of the state of Florida who voted on November 7 have representation on December 18. We're getting close to the December 12 date where, if something happens in a court decision and more delay comes to being in the process, we may not have those 25 electors and the six million voters will not be counted -- six million votes that were cast on November 7 won't be counted on December 18. What we're doing here is to be sure that not only did every vote count, but the certification that took place on Sunday night, and as many of our Democratic colleagues are saying, that was a certification, let's make sure those 25 electors are in place to vote for those people on December 18. RAY SUAREZ: Is there any question of that? You just heard your colleague, Senator Klein, mention that, as far as he's concerned, Florida's electors have been certified. The risk is very low.
RAY SUAREZ: Representative Frankel, let's hear from you on just that question. Did you and your colleagues have to move to schedule this session today? LOIS FRANKEL: This reminds me of one of these little stories that I learned about when I was a little girl. Chicken Little, the sky is falling. The sky is not falling. We've had a lawful election. Six million Floridians went to the polls. And now we're just waiting to get all the votes counted. We have a process that's been put in place by laws that were written before the election. And that's the way it's supposed to be. Now the Florida legislature wants to write new laws and really issue an insurance policy for George Bush. And the way I look at it is just in case Al Gore wins this contest in this election, and they want to make sure that they send up to Washington another set of electors that are going to vote for George Bush. |
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RAY SUAREZ: The governor of your state has officially recused himself in this process. But isn't he implicated at some point if the legislature serves up a slate of electors? Does he have to sign to authorize those electors?
RAY SUAREZ: Well, Senator Laurent, I've heard that you and many of your Republican colleagues approached this prospect with no great relish, that you hope this is settled another way, rather than you choosing the electors yourself. Is that a fair description? JOHN LAURENT: Yes, I think that's a pretty fair description of... you know, there may be folks who really relish the special session, getting involved in this. Most of the members I've talked to, we've been told repeatedly that not only do we have the right to do this, we have a constitutional responsibility to do this. It is fraught with personal, you know, political peril to members. It's not the type of issues that most members like to deal with, but it comes with the territory. And I think we're going to be obliged to put the legislature in the position to protect our electoral votes. That does not mean we're getting ourselves in the position to overturn any specific court ruling or court finding. What we were told, even if George Bush slam dunks Vice President Gore in court, that we still may need to act to bring conclusivity -- and that's a new word that's been bandied around -- to Florida's electors that are currently certified. RAY SUAREZ: Ron Klein, what's your reaction to that possibility?
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RAY SUAREZ: Representative Fasano, were you chosen to elect the president, if that's what you have to do?
RAY SUAREZ: Lois Frankel, the Houses, both Houses in Florida now have Republican... sizable Republican margins. Is there any way for this not to be perceived as a political, rather than an official, designation, this choosing of electors?
RAY SUAREZ: Well, let me go directly to Senator Laurent for an answer to that question. JOHN LAURENT: Well, I don't think anybody could look at the mess that this election is in and say it's concluded. There are dozens of lawsuits. There was one filed as late as today I believe in Martin County, not to count ballots but to exclude ballots where it's clear who those folks voted for. We have... we're in the U.S. Supreme Court. There was motions file in the state Supreme Court today. But the trial is only going to begin this Saturday in circuit court. If that court orders... an additional count -- I want to point out we've had recounts at the local level already -- orders an additional recount of 1.1 million ballots and this issue is... has to then be appealed by one camp or the other to the Florida Supreme Court, then possibly to the U.S. Supreme Court, by December 12 for there to be some finality as to who our electors are. The idea of that being concluded, I just... I think that is preposterous. And we have to be in the spot, if we do not know for sure who our electors on the 12th, to be able to step in. RAY SUAREZ: Well, we're going to have to leave it there. Senators, Representatives, thank you all for joining us this evening. |
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RAY
SUAREZ: Florida legislators join us now. Republican State Senator John
Laurent served on the Joint Committee, Ron Klein is a Democratic state
senator, Mike Fasano is the state House majority leader, and we're expecting
Lois Frankel, the House minority leader. 
JOHN
LAURENT: If the U.S. Supreme Court rules in certain manners, the U.S.
Supreme Court would trump everything that we could do or that would
be going on in the state courts and would make the move moot. There
will not be a final vote on Tuesday. That will be the beginning of the
legislative session on Tuesday. The final vote may be Thursday, Friday,
Saturday, Sunday or Monday. That's not been decided yet by the body,
as to when we're going to ultimately make a decision. I believe the
Senate will be very deliberative on that and will be very conservative
and only act if it appears it's necessary for us to act to protect the
electoral votes from Florida. 
RON
KLEIN: Well, obviously, we're all concerned in Florida about making
sure that our electoral votes are cast. None of the six million people
and all the rest of the Floridians want to... or they do want to make
sure that we do participate in the elections process. But there are
also other constitutional scholars that I listened to over the last
couple of days that have made it quite clear that the federal statute
does not allow the Florida legislature to intervene when there is a
certified group of electors that are already in place. Katherine Harris
has certified that. That group of people is legally in place. And in
the absence of a court taking that position that Al Gore has to have
a recount and in fact the votes change, then there's the possibility
of two slates. But that goes to the U.S. House, and there are federal
statutes that deal with that as well. 
MIKE
FASANO: Well, if they have been certified, as we've seen on Sunday night,
why do the Democrats continue to fight it in the court process. We're
hearing from some of our colleagues that it is a certified election
and the 25 electors have been certified, but yet they want to bring
a million ballots up from south Florida to continue to count. I'm not
sure which story is the correct one, but we continue to get two stories.
And we want to be sure that those six million votes that were cast on
November 7 are counted. It would be a sad day for Florida not to be
represented in the electoral process. 
LOIS
FRANKEL: Well, Jeb Bush did recuse himself from the canvassing board,
the state canvassing board, which I think was a good thing. But I don't
think anybody should really think that he has stepped back. After all,
George Bush is his brother, and you would expect him to be vigorously
trying to get his brother elected. And I think behind the scenes he
has been doing that. I just think it's unfortunate that the George Bush
campaign would use the Florida legislature as an arm of their campaign.
This is unprecedented -- really the first time in history that a legislature
would try to do this after a lawful election. And I believe it's going
to be met with distrust and frustration and disgust by voters across
America and across the state. And I think it's just plain wrong for
us to be doing this. And really I hope that my colleagues over the weekend
will reconsider going forward with this special session. 
RON
KLEIN: Well, I just don't see it that way at all. It's not even a question
of limited risk; there is no risk. We have a slate of electors that
have gone forward. We do not need to take any further action, and this
is, unfortunately, very political. My good friend Senator Laurent said
something which is correct, we are elected to do things like making
sure we have a good educational system and provide public safety and
various other things. We are not elected to select the president of
the United States. There is nothing in the statute that says we are
supposed to do it, assuming that there is a certified vote which has
taken place. My vote as a state senator is one vote that is really not
designed to elect the president. My vote is just like any other Floridian
who voted for president -- one to one, and we have six million people
that voted, and I don't believe my vote has any greater merit or power
than their vote either.
MIKE
FASANO: We were elected to uphold the Constitution, not only of the
state of Florida, but of the United States. In that Constitution and
in the code, it makes it clear that the legislature will have the final
say in selecting the 25 electors in the state of Florida. Many of my
colleagues, Republicans and I would hope Democrats too, would have concern
that, if we go to December 12 and we don't have 25 electors to represent
the six million voters on December 18, we will be left out of the electoral
process. 
LOIS
FRANKEL: Well, let's see it for what it is. It is a very highly partisan
move by a Republican-driven legislature, where you have the governor
here, the brother of the presidential candidate, who wants to deliver
this state to his brother. It is a partisan affair, and I think that's
the only way to look at it, and I think that's the way the six million
voters who went to the polls whose votes are being disrespected... let
me tell you something interesting. I brought with me a letter that was
sent yesterday, on November 29, by Mickey Barnett who's the Republican
Party attorney in New Mexico to a local judge of a canvassing board.
And in that letter, he says that -- he brings attention to the board
to the unusually large number of votes not cast for president in Roosevelt
County on the face of the county's returns. And in that letter, he says,
these ballots... he says that the best way to determine the accuracy
of this apparent discrepancy or machine malfunction is by a hand count.
Now, this is the Republican Party counsel in New Mexico asking for a
hand count. Now, do you think that now the New Mexico state legislature
should meet and appoint some new electors as a contingency because there's
not what we call conclusivity in that state?