Jack-Loafered Thugs?

Observers of the Miami-Dade hand recount tell their stories.

Michael W. Lynch | December 1, 2000

As more ballots are trucked up to Leon County, Florida, Republican foot soldiers are making the rounds in Washington, DC, telling their side of what happened down in Miami-Dade County. That's where election officials decided not to complete a hand count of their ballots while boisterous Republicans protested the way the count was proceeding.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) accused the button-down protesters of fascism. His House colleague Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said the demonstrations “shook the foundations of democracy." Others have accused the protesters of civil rights violations, charges Janet Reno's Justice Department is reportedly exploring.

Al Gore's contest of the Florida election (which is currently before the Florida Supreme Court) cites various press reports that the protesters intimidated county officials into suspending the hand count. Elections Supervisor David Leahy has denied this.

But Republican observers stationed in the Miami-Dade County recount room claim that they were actually the victims, not the perpetrators, of heavy-handed treatment. They say they were observers who weren't allowed to observe, that they weren't allowed to challenge ballots, and, at times, that they weren't allowed to speak at all. If they complained too often, they were kicked out of the room.

I caught up with two of the Miami-Dade veterans in Washington on Wednesday. Bryan Wilkes, a 33-year-old Hill staffer, took vacation time and left on the morning of his wife's birthday to watch the counting. "She said we don't have any money to give, but if you can do anything to prevent Al Gore from being president, that's a great birthday present," says Wilkes. "You have to love a wife like that." He observed the counting in both Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, but he returned home before the Miami protest got underway.

My second interviewee is heralded by Republican partisans as a "19th Floor Patriot." (The protests occurred on the 19th floor of the Miami-Dade County building.) He only granted the interview on assurances of anonymity, after being warned of Reno's civil rights investigation. He's hoarse from telling his story around D.C., where he's exhorting other Republicans to stand up and fight for George W. Bush. While his time in Florida cost him his voice, at least temporarily, he didn't come back empty-handed. He's wearing a baseball cap emblazoned with "Florida W Recount Team" and carries in the pocket of his blue blazer, along with a piece of hard candy and a stick of gum, a small plastic bag containing three of those now notorious chads.

Here's what they have to say about the events surrounding the Miami-Dade recount.

Bryan Wilkes, congressional staffer

How was the room set up?

There were three members of the canvassing board sitting up front and there were 25 tables. They didn't always have enough county workers to work the tables so there were about 15 in use. One precinct was counted at each table. There were two county workers. There was a Democrat observer and a Republican observer. I was a Republican observer.

What did an observer do?

Our job was to observe the counting, to make sure it was done accurately, to make sure the ballot got put in the right pile, to make sure the numbers on election night matched up with the physical numbers we actually had, and to challenge any ballots that were double punched, that looked bad, or that were illegal under Florida law. In Miami-Dade they made it very difficult for us to challenge.

Was there an actual discrepancy in the number of ballots?

At the end of the count for one precinct one night, I realized that we were 18 votes short on the physical count of the total on election night. Election night was 628 and I had 610, which is a difference of 18. With the information that I had, I determined there were probably 18 undervotes. So the end of the night came and they were putting everything in the box and they wanted us to sign the sheets. Both county workers signed, the Democrat signed, and I said I wasn't going to sign because we were missing 18 votes. It got a little loud, brought some people over, and one of the members of the canvassing board came over. He happens to be the supervisor of elections, David Leahy, I think. I explained the situation, told him we're missing 18 votes, and asked if this a concern, thinking he would say yes and I could take it from there. He said, No, just make a note on the sheet and sign it. I said, "Excuse me?"

These people didn't like to be second-guessed. They didn't like to have their authority challenged. They were total authority freaks, especially the chairman, Judge Lawrence King. Leahy got really irritated and said, "Yes, I said, just make a note on the sheet and sign it."