On 12/08/04 a request for a ballot inspection was sent to the Orange County Supervisor of Elections. There was a prompt response and an appointment set a few days later. We wanted to schedule earlier but the SOE needed time to allow notification to all candidates.
Letter template:
http://www.recountflorida.com/volunteer.phpUpon arrival to our appointment on 12/14/2004, they greeted us along with their county attorney. They seemed very nice and helpful. They walked us to a large table and gave instructions on what to expect. Basic instructions like not touching the ballots and notifying the clerk on proceeding to the next one.
The ballots were brought in separate boxes sealed with tape. Each precinct had a few boxes. We ended up counting precincts #101, #102 and a half of #108 for 4.5 hours straight with about 2500 ballots.
After leaving for the day, we reviewed each other’s count. Surprisingly, the difference in our totals from the official results showed fewer votes for almost all candidates.
PRECINCT 101:
Bush –26
Kerry –21
PRECINCT 102:
Bush –37
Kerry – 10
Full Report:
http://www.recountflorida.com/reports/report1.htmShortly after these results were published, a call was received from their county attorney. He said, we weren’t shown the “write-in” ballots so we are now planning towards another appointment to view them. You can consider this a “work in progress”.
There are still many precincts out there that have never been independently checked. We are just two Floridians trying to verify the 2004 election results at our home county. Hopefully, we will not be the last one.
www.recountflorida.com