Res. No. 1624 Title Resolution calling on the United States Department of Justice and all appropriate federal governmental entities to investigate voting practices in Florida and specifically in Palm Beach County which appear likely to have negatively impacted on the rights of senior citizens and other voters to exercise their Constitutional right to vote in the November 7, 2000 Presidential election, and further calling upon Florida's Presidential electors, to the extent allowed by law, to refrain from acting in any manner that would undermine the national popular vote, until such investigations are complete and any irregularities found are remedied. Body By Council Members Berman, Malave-Dilan and Freed; also Council Members Marshall, Nelson, Povman, Sabini and Warden Whereas, The Presidential election held on November 7, 2000 has turned out to be one of the closest presidential elections in United States history, with the Democratic candidate having won the popular vote but no candidate having yet been declared the winner of the electoral vote; and Whereas, In the key battleground state of Florida, a legally-mandated recount due to the closeness of the race revealed in its initial day that the two candidates' vote tallies were separated by only several hundred votes out of almost six million votes cast in that state; and Whereas, The 25 electors chosen in the state of Florida are almost certain to determine the outcome of the electoral college count, thereby determining the next president of the United States; and Whereas, According to news reports, over 19,000 ballots in Palm Beach County, a county with a heavy concentration of senior citizens, were thrown out because voters "punched" the holes for two presidential candidates, an occurrence that many voters are alleging was due to a confusing ballot and some critics allege violated Florida's own ballot requirements; and Whereas, News reports also indicate that the vote count in Palm Beach County for third- party Reform candidate, Pat Buchanan, was significantly higher than in all other Florida counties, notwithstanding this county's high concentration of Democratic voters, and that numerous supporters of the Democratic candidate expressed concerns that the confusing ballot led them to mistakenly punch the hole for the Reform Party presidential candidate instead of the Democratic presidential candidate; and Whereas, The NAACP and numerous African-American leaders have raised concerns over voting practices that may have inhibited the African-American vote in numerous counties in Florida, a vote that historically has favored the Democratic candidate who in this election has won the national popular vote; and Whereas, At the dawn of the new millenium when fair-minded Americans have worked so hard to ensure that all voters be afforded every opportunity to participate fully and equally in the electoral process, no citizen - whether of Florida or New York which voted overwhelmingly for the candidate who has won the popular vote -- should have to countenance the outcome of a presidential election being undermined by arcane, confusing or biased voting procedures, whether or not such procedures and practices were intentional; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the United States Department of Justice and all appropriate federal governmental entities to investigate voting practices in Florida and specifically in Palm Beach County which appear likely to have negatively impacted on the rights of senior citizens and other voters to exercise their Constitutional right to vote in the November 7, 2000 Presidential election, and further calls upon Florida's Presidential electors, to the extent allowed by law, to refrain from acting in any manner that would undermine the national popular vote, until such investigations are complete and any irregularities found are remedied.