Disputed Florida Election to Spill Onto House Floor
    Reuters

    Friday 29 December 2006

    Washington - A disputed election result in a House of Representatives race in Florida will be one of the first items raised when the Democratic-controlled House convenes next week, injecting partisan politics into the start of the 110th Congress.

    Rep. Rush Holt, a New Jersey Democrat who has pushed for better safeguards on electronic voting machines, said on Friday that he will make a procedural point to establish that the swearing-in of Florida Republican Vern Buchanan does not prejudice ongoing challenges by his Democratic opponent, Christine Jennings.

    "This is a district, Sarasota area in Florida, where there's no way of knowing whether the result presented by Florida's secretary of state is valid. In fact, I think there is significant evidence that it is not," Holt told reporters.

    Buchanan was certified the winner of the November 7 election by a 369-vote margin. But oddly, about 18,000 ballots in Sarasota County had no votes recorded for the disputed House race, while other races on those same ballots were voted upon.

    Kevin Smith, a spokesman for House Republican leader John Boehner, said the matter is settled.

    "Florida authorities conducted a thorough audit of the voting machines used in the district and found no system breakdowns or abnormalities." He added, "The election is over. Vern Buchanan won."

    Holt said he will make the "formal inquiry" immediately after Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California is sworn in as the first female Speaker of the House on Thursday.

    Democrats wrested the House and Senate from Republican control in November's elections.

    Jennings is pursuing legal challenges in Florida and has asked the House Administration Committee to investigate the balloting. Ultimately, in disputed elections, the House has the last word on who is a member of the legislative body.

    Holt's procedural move on Thursday is less confrontational than an effort to block Buchanan's swearing-in at the start of the new Congress. Holt said he knew of no fellow Democrats who were planning such a maneuver.

    "I expect the evidence will show that the certification did not reflect the will of the voters and that a revote is necessary," Holt said.

    Close elections are not uncommon and fights over results sometimes poison the atmosphere between Republicans and Democrats in Congress.

    A glaring example was the 1984 race between Indiana Democrat Frank McCloskey and Republican Richard McIntyre. McCloskey was thought to have won narrowly, but a recount gave McIntyre an edge and Indiana's Republican secretary of state certified him the winner. But Democrats in control of the House then ordered a recount by the U.S. General Accounting Office and McCloskey won by four votes.

    Republicans were bitter about the result for years.

    The disputed Florida seat had been held by Rep. Katherine Harris, the former Florida secretary of state who certified George W. Bush as the winner of the 2000 presidential race in Florida over Al Gore.