As an activist community, we need to scrutinize the vote totals precinct by precinct.
Analyzing Florida 2000 data, there were frequent and suspicious surges in many precincts.
For instance, in Seminole county precinct 28, 429 additional voters appeared during the recount. The Senate vote count shows 1015 voted in precinct 28. However, 1444 people are listed as voted on the presidential recount data sheet. In total, 620 additional voters were mysteriously added to the votes cast list. I guess there were allot of problems with precinct 28s voting machines? But fortunately Seminole county vote counters recounted late into the morning on November 9th with Republican congressman John Mica himself overseeing the process. From the Orlando Sentinel(11/9/00), "they were running each individual ballot through the voting machines. Any ballot the machine rejected was then examined by hand, and if the will of the voter could be determined, they prepared a new ballot to replace the original rejected ballot and added this newly created ballot to the count."
Very convenient indeed, Seminole county was the last county to report and the additional 384 votes(net 98 votes for Bush)gave Bush his 327 vote lead which would have been erased by Gore's additional 286 votes.
Before the Seminole county recount Bush led by only 229 votes, Gore's additional 286 votes would have given Gore a 57 vote lead at the end of the first recount. James Baker's comments to his law team from the beginning of the recount was that Bush must maintain his lead at all costs. In other words, maintain the perception that Bush won Florida and therefore the election. Notice how the same thing is occurring with the latest poll releases. If Kerry is ahead it's a dead heat, if Bush leads by just 1%, he's ahead. Manufacturing momentum.
Bush's recount leaders-------
Seminole county: 384 votes
Polk County: 194 votes
Volusia county: 143 votes
Palm Beach county: 105 votes
Martin county:106 votes
Dade county: 77 votes
Okaloosa: 50 votes
Good thing Seminole came through in a clutch since only 6 out of 67 counties delivered more than 50 additional votes for Mr. Bush.
see for yourself at www.semcoelections.org/results