[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 19 (Thursday, February 28, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1337-S1338]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    PLEA TO THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE

  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Mr. President, I want to follow my remarks of 
a few minutes ago about Black History Month with an underlining of my 
concern of what is happening in the Florida Legislature as we speak, 
which is meeting in the capital city of Tallahassee.
  It is almost ironic that at the very time the Senate is considering 
an election reform bill, of which for that legislation we are having 
discussions, negotiations, and awaiting agreements to finally come 
forth so we do not have to come to the Chamber to break a filibuster to 
pass it--and it is legislation that is going to get wide support once 
we get to final passage--but it is almost ironic what has happened in 
the Florida Legislature since we started this legislation 2\1/2\ weeks 
ago when I spoke in this Chamber in favor of the legislation. At that 
time, I took to the floor complimenting the Florida Legislature.
  In the State of Florida, we went through a grueling experience in the 
Presidential election of 2000. We saw so many ballots that were not 
counted. We saw clear voter intent that was not followed. There was 
confusion over the ballots. There was confusion in the construction of 
the ballot, how it fit together. There was the famous butterfly ballot. 
We saw how even when voter intent was so clear for example, a first-
time voter, who was not familiar with the ballot, would go down the 
Presidential names and select one name and mark that on a punchcard 
ballot, and then at the bottom of the Presidential names there was a 
line, and it said: ``Write-in,'' and they would write in the same 
Presidential candidate--the voter intent was clear, but that ballot was 
not counted.
  So after that awful experience, before which I had never known 
anything about error rates in ballot counting--and thank the Good Lord 
I never had a close election, and little did I ever know there could be 
the confusion and so many people, in effect, disenfranchised in an 
election--when we started our election reform bill in this Chamber a 
couple weeks ago, I took to the floor and complimented the Florida 
Legislature because it changed all of the punchcard ballots and it 
appropriated, out of a $50 billion annual budget, $24 million so that 
the counties could buy new voting equipment and they would never have 
to go through the confusion of that punchcard voting system again. They 
would have an optical scan system with a much lower error rate.
  That was my compliment to the Florida Legislature. They did right. 
That was a year ago. But just last week, the Florida House of 
Representatives did not appropriate, in its appropriations bill, the 
second $12 million installment to modernize the election system. What 
in the world are we thinking in the year 2002, when it is almost taken 
for granted that it is a bedrock principle that registered voters 
should have the right to vote and to have their vote counted?

[[Page S1338]]

  So as we continue to discuss and debate--and ultimately we will 
pass--this election reform bill at the Federal level, let me make a 
plea to the Florida Legislature: You were so gallant, as leaders in the 
Nation, after the debacle and the disenfranchisement of the 2000 
election, to first step forward with an election reform bill and 
providing the appropriations to fund that election reform.
  Please do not falter now, Florida Legislature. Please, appropriate 
the second half of that appropriation that was promised a year ago so 
Florida will not have any serious questions about every Floridian's 
vote being counted.
  I thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity to speak.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Does the Senator suggest the 
absence of a quorum?
  Mr. NELSON of Florida. Yes. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Nelson of Florida). Without objection, it 
is so ordered.

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