HOUSE AMENDMENT
115-199AX-01 Bill No. HCR 1-A Barcode 113811
Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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5 ORIGINAL STAMP BELOW
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11 Representative(s) Frankel, Wiles, Kosmas, Henriquez, Smith,
12 Wilson, Ryan, Heyman, Bucher, Cusack, Gannon, Romeo, Lerner,
13 Peterman, Holloway, Jennings, Justice, Wishner, Weissman,
14 Machek, Bendross-Mindingall, Brutus, Joyner, Rich, Siplin,
15 Slosberg, Sobel, Gelber, Meadows, Harper, McGriff, Betancourt,
16 Gottlieb, Ausley, and Greenstein offered the following:
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18 Amendment (with title amendment)
19 remove: everything after the resolving clause
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21 and insert in lieu thereof:
22 That the Florida Legislature take no action to interfere with
23 the lawful ongoing election process created prior to the
24 election of November 7, 2000.
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26 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Florida Legislature
27 congratulate the next President of the United States.
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30 ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ===============
31 And the title is amended as follows:
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File original & 9 copies 12/12/00
hbd0005 08:11 am A0001-0085-113811
HOUSE AMENDMENT
115-199AX-01 Bill No. HCR 1-A Barcode 113811
Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)
1 remove: everything before the resolving clause
2
3 and insert in lieu thereof:
4 WHEREAS, Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution of
5 the United States provides, in pertinent part, that "Each
6 state shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof
7 may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of
8 Senators and Representatives to which the State may be
9 entitled in Congress," and
10 WHEREAS, the Legislature of this state has placed the
11 decision for election of the President of the United States,
12 as well as every other elected office, in the citizens of this
13 state through a statutory scheme as set forth in section
14 103.011, Florida Statutes, and
15 WHEREAS, an election was held in this state on November
16 7, 2000, for the purpose of selecting electors from Florida to
17 cast the state's vote for President and Vice President of the
18 United States of America on December 18, 2000, and
19 WHEREAS, on November 7, 2000, over 6 million Floridians
20 went to the polls to vote for President and Vice President,
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22 WHEREAS, on November 8, 2000, George W. Bush was
23 leading in Florida's popular vote according to initial returns
24 reported by Florida's 67 counties, and
25 WHEREAS, Florida law provides that any candidate shall
26 have the right to protest the returns as being erroneous, and
27 further that "the county canvassing board may authorize a
28 manual recount" pursuant to section 102.166(4)(c), Florida
29 Statutes, and
30 WHEREAS, Al Gore filed a protest of the November 7
31 election and requested a manual recount in certain counties
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hbd0005 08:11 am A0001-0085-113811
HOUSE AMENDMENT
115-199AX-01 Bill No. HCR 1-A Barcode 113811
Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)
1 where punch card ballots were used, and
2 WHEREAS, the manual recount was not completed, and
3 WHEREAS, on November 26, 2000, Florida certified its 25
4 presidential electors for George W. Bush, and
5 WHEREAS, on November 26, 2000, Governor Jeb Bush signed
6 an ascertainment of such certification and delivered such
7 ascertainment to the National Archives, and
8 WHEREAS, Florida law provides that after the
9 certification of an election, an unsuccessful candidate may
10 contest the results of an election if there is a "receipt of a
11 number of illegal votes or rejection of a number of legal
12 votes sufficient to change or place in doubt the result of the
13 election" pursuant to section 102.168(3)(c), Florida Statutes,
14 and
15 WHEREAS, Florida law provides that an election contest
16 shall be resolved in a judicial forum pursuant to section
17 102.168, Florida Statutes, and
18 WHEREAS, Al Gore filed a complaint, Albert Gore and
19 Joseph Lieberman vs. Katherine Harris, as Secretary, etc., et
20 al., in the Circuit Court for Leon County contesting such
21 certification, and
22 WHEREAS, the Legislature has mandated that no vote
23 shall be ignored "if there is a clear indication of the intent
24 of the voter" on the ballot, unless it is "impossible to
25 determine the elector's choice" as provided for in section
26 101.5614(5)-(6), Florida Statutes, and
27 WHEREAS, the Legislature has also provided that the
28 focus of any manual examination of a ballot shall determine
29 the voter's intent as provided in section 102.166(7), Florida
30 Statutes, and
31 WHEREAS, the Legislature has specifically authorized
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File original & 9 copies 12/12/00
hbd0005 08:11 am A0001-0085-113811
HOUSE AMENDMENT
115-199AX-01 Bill No. HCR 1-A Barcode 113811
Amendment No. ___ (for drafter's use only)
1 the circuit court judge to "fashion such orders as he or she
2 deems necessary to ensure that each allegation in the
3 complaint is investigated, examined, or checked, to prevent or
4 correct any alleged wrong, and to provide any relief
5 appropriate under such circumstances" pursuant to section
6 102.168(8), Florida Statutes, and
7 WHEREAS, the matter of the contest of George W. Bush
8 vs. Albert Gore now lies in the United States Supreme Court,
9 and
10 WHEREAS, the will of the people should be paramount to
11 the will of the Legislature, and
12 WHEREAS, thousands of our forefathers and mothers have
13 struggled and died for universal suffrage, and
14 WHEREAS, the right to vote is the right to participate;
15 it is also the right to speak, but more importantly the right
16 to be heard, and
17 WHEREAS, the Legislature's appointment of electors
18 would violate Section 1 of Title 3 of the United States Code
19 and would set a dangerous precedent which could lead other
20 states to follow Florida's example and disenfranchise their
21 electorates, and
22 WHEREAS, we should respect the rule of law, NOW,
23 THEREFORE,
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