Florida Supreme Court Hearing Transcript
— -- [This is part 8 of a 14 part court transcript.]
Part 8
ANSTEAD: Well, the scheme allows for that, does it not? Thescheme allows for a request for a recount very late in the process.
KLOCK: If you are permitted to initiative something at any pointand time, and it has to be turned in at a certain time, that is thesame basic rule that I had in high school with term papers. You canstart the term paper the night before, if you want to, but it isunlikely that you’ll be able to turn it in the next day when it’s due.
ANSTEAD: So by giving that right to initiate the recount at thattime, that really is an illusory right. In other words…
KLOCK: No, sir.
ANSTEAD: …that is not really correct in the statute, that youhave that much time before the certification of the results, in otherwords, to make that request?
KLOCK: You have the seven day period within which to handle allof the counting of the votes. The initial counting, if you have anautomatic recount and if there is going to be a manual recount.
But the other point, Your Honor, that I think is veryimportant to note is that we’re not talking about a manual recount ona statewide basis; it’s three selected counties.
ANSTEAD: Let me talk about the seven days, too, and ask for yourhelp, and let’s work by way of a hypothetical.
Are you suggesting by the language that has this seven daydeadline, that if we had, for instance, in Dade County, that theelection officials down there, after they’d compiled the vote andeverything, and they were the only county outstanding, and that therewas gross negligence then, that they all went off on vacation to theislands and just let the election returns sit there, and seven dayspassed, and eight days passed, and nine days, and 11 — you know, andso on, that the secretary of state, because of that seven day rulethen, and the gross negligence of the election officials down there,would simply say, “That’s it. Under the language of the legislature,I cannot count the votes from Dade County, the largest county in thestate of Florida in the election returns.” Is that what the positionof the secretary of state is?
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