November 17, 2002

Early Voting in Fla. Aided Gov. Bush (AP)
Gov. Jeb Bush's victory last week was aided by a record turnout at early voting stations and from absentee ballots in the mail, including about 380,000 Republican voters.
- Nov 11 1:07 PM ET

Low black voter turnout derailed anti-Bush backlash
By Gregory Lewis
Staff Writer
Posted November 17 2002  Fort Lauderdale-The backlash vote against Jeb Bush that Democrats were counting on to oust the president's brother didn't materialize in Broward County, the state's largest Democratic county. While black turnout statistics have yet to be figured in Broward or by state officials, political observers say turnout indeed was low based on Bush's margin of victory in Florida and the severe bashing Democrats took in the county and around the state and nation.

 Wife: Alzheimer's Patient 'Helped' To Vote In Election
Thu Nov 14, 8:21 AM ET
A Channel 10 report is raising questions about some of the votes in the Nov. 5 general election.

Joe Skolnik, 81, has Alzheimer's disease . His wife says that he can't dress, clean or feed himself. Skolnik isn't even able to write his own name.

Weinsier asked Skolnik  if he knows who Jeb Bush is. He could not answer.

Martha Skolnik, Joe's wife of 55 years, said she was shocked when she found out that on Oct. 21, a machine was brought to the state veteran's nursing home for patients here to vote.

Martha Skolnik said that she is concerned her husband could have been taken advantage of, since he doesn't know what he voted for and didn't push the touch screen. A supervisor of elections worker reportedly assisted him while his caretaker watched.

Joe Cotter, deputy elections supervisor said, "The people that we have at the facility are instructed not to cast the vote for the person, but allow the person to cast the vote."

Cotter said if the voter can't specify a candidate, no vote should be cast.
 

Voting Machines Turn Up 3 Weeks Later
Machines Left In Closet, Found By Accident

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Three weeks after the primary election, several touch-screen voting machines have turned up left behind in a closet.

The machines were apparently shut in the closet of Fort Lauderdale Fire Station 49.

June Lewis, manager of the warehouse where the machines are supposed to be stored, told Channel 10 News that she was not aware that there were any machines missing.

Broward Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Rick Earl said that he happened to find the machines while he was inspecting the fire station in preparation for the Nov. 5 election.