Florida Judge won't budge on ballots

Counties won't be forced to count provisional ballots at polls Nov. 2
Despite a plea that hurricanes and the winds of political change will cause confusion at the polls Nov. 2, Leon County Circuit Judge Ralph Smith refused Wednesday to make counties count "provisional ballots" that get cast in the wrong precincts. The special ballots were authorized after the 2000 election, when thousands of voters were wrongly turned away from the polls. If a voter insists he's properly registered but poll workers can't find him on precinct lists, he can still vote. If the mistake is corrected at the county courthouse, the vote is tallied - but only if the ballot was cast in the right place. A coalition of labor groups supporting Sen. John Kerry for president said they will appeal to the Florida Supreme Court. They argue that if a voter goes to the wrong precinct and gets the wrong provisional ballot for a few local races, his or her votes for president, Congress, the state Legislature, countywide offices and constitutional amendments should still count. [more ]