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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 2000)
Wednesday www.dailyemerald.com An independent newspaper Enrollment boon New Oregon University System figures indicate record freshman numbers at state schools. PAGE 6 Getting heated In most Civil War weeks, there is a war of words, and this week is no exception. PAGE 7 November 15,2000 Volume 102, Issue 56 Weather TODAY MOSTLY SONNY high 50, low 35 Judge upholds deadline, but appeals will follow Florida Secretary of State Katherine • Harris will decide whether to accept further recount totals By Ron Fournier AP Political Writer One week into Baker III. America’s election lim bo, Florida’s Republi can secretary of state certified George W. Bush’s narrow lead Tuesday night, even as thousands of disputed ballots were counted into the night at Al Gore’s behest. “When is it going to end?” asked Bush aide James A. There was no answer in sight. Baker floated a proposal to cease the ballot-by-ballot fight for Florida’s 25 elec toral votes and the White House, but De mocrats said he offered nothing new — and dismissed it outright. With lawyers and judges front and center in the presi dential election, nerves began to fray and adjectives failed to serve. “It’s like the seventh day of being held hostage,” stammered Jeb Bush, governor of Florida and the harried brother of the GOP presidential hopeful. Secretary of State Katherine Harris, a Bush supporter, announced Tuesday night that the Texas governor had a 300 vote lead out of 6 million votes cast — with overseas absentee ballots and ongo ing recount totals pending. Her announcement came almost three hours after a 5 p.m. vote-counting dead line, upheld earlier by state Judge Terry Lewis. He turned aside Gore’s arguments to lift the deadline, but gave Harris the authority to accept or reject follow-up manual recount totals afterward. Lewis’ decision was a setback for the vice president, who wanted a clear order lifting the Tuesday deadline, but his lawyers found solace in ruling language urging Harris to consider “all appropriate facts and circumstances” when recount totals are filed. Harris said she will require counties fil ing late recount numbers to explain in writing by 2 p.m. Wednesday why new vote totals should be accepted. “Unless I determine, in the exercise of my discre tion, that these facts and circumstances... justify an amendment to today’s official returns” the totals will stand, she said. Gore decided to hold off an appeal of Lewis’ ruling and press forward with re counts in four Democratic-leaning coun ties. Gore’s advisers hope Harris will ap prove the hand-counted ballots though they expect the worst and are prepared to appeal if she does not. “If the secretary of state arbitrarily re fuses to accept the amended returns Turn to Florida, page 4 Here are the latest nationwide election returns in the race for president with 99 percent of the nation’s precincts report ing. The winner is marked with an ’x\ Gore48,842,411 -48 percent Has won 20 states including the District of Co lumbia with 262 ev. Leads in 1 state with 5 ev. Bush 48,609,516 - 48 percent Has won 29 states with 246 ev. Leads in 1 state with 25 ev. Others 3,699,243 - 4 percent Needed to win: 270 of the 538 electoral votes (ev) from the 50 states arid the Dis- * trict of Columbia. Source The Associated Press Spread in’ the word Republicans examine Oregon ■An Oregon ballot recount will occur only if the margin separating the candidates is less than one-fifth of one 1 percent By Richard Green Associated Press Writer PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — One week after the presidential election, county of ficials are still counting ballots and some may be doing so until the Nov. 27 deadline set by state law. Al Gore has won the presidential race in Oregon. But Democrats and Republi cans are eager to see whether the margin will be small enough to trigger an auto matic recount — which appears unlike ly. With fewer than 10,000 ballots left to be counted out of 1.5 million cast, Gore led George W. Bush by 4,233 votes Tues day evening. An automatic recount would be trig gered if the margin narrowed to less than one-fifth of 1 percent, or about 2,800 votes. Paddy McGuire, chief of staff for Ore gon Secretary of State Bill Bradbury, said the vote count is going about as fast as could be expected and it is typical to have a small percentage of the vote unt abulated days after an election. “It is only an issue here because the presidential race is so close,” he said. “If Al Gore were ahead in Oregon by 5 per centage points, instead of by 0.4, nobody would get very excited about a couple thousand votes here or there. But be cause it is so close, every vote really does matter.” Many of the uncounted votes come from Multnomah County, where voters favored Gore and it is unlikely that Bush would catch up enough to force an auto matic recall. If there were no automatic recount, Bush could still request one, but he would have to pay for it, and the request would have to be made by Dec. 12. Dan Lavey, Bush’s Oregon campaign spokesman, said no decision would be made on a possible recount request until after the final vote total is certified. However, Republicans began can vassing county clerks Tuesday to try to determine the current tally and how many ballots remain uncounted, Bush campaign spokeswoman Leslie Good man said. “The one concern we found today is the inability to ascertain accurate up to the minute information,” Goodman said. She also was frustrated by at least one county that decided to treat the cam paign’s request for the names of voters who reregistered after Oct. 17 as a Free dom of Information Act request, which would give the county 60 days to re spond. “One would think they would feel compelled to provide that information sooner rather than later in a reasonable time frame to protect the integrity of the ballot,” Goodman said. ii If A! Gore were ahead in Oregon by 5 percentage points, in stead of by 0.4, nobody would get very excited... But because it is so close, every vote really does matter. Paddy McGuire Chief of Staff for Oregon Secretary Bill Bradbury^^ Sen. Ron Wyden will hold “sidewalk office hours" to day outside the University Bookstore from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Anybody wishing to speak with Wyden needs only to show up. No appointments are necessary. “This is something he’s done since he was first elected to make himself as available to Oregoni ans as possible,” Wyden spokeswoman Lisa Markgrassaid. The last time Wyden spoke with constituents on the street was Sept. 29, when he set up a table in Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square. Wyden will also attend a meeting of the Associa tion of Oregon Counties at the Eugene Hilton. Tom Patterson Emerald' The nearly ubiquitous Doug, he of the “Free God News,” is a common sight on campus. History leaves mark on Mexico’s future Author John Ross delivered a speech Tuesday on the impact of the Zapatista rebellion in Mexico By Beata Mostafavi Oregon Daily Emerald John Ross, a journalist and author who has lived in Mex ico for over 10 years, spoke to about 50 people Tuesday in Willamette Hall about his latest release “The War Against Oblivion: Zapatista Chronicles.” Ross emphasized the main theme of his book, which is to remember the Zapatista rebellion in Chiapas against the Mexican government in 1983, appreciate their influence and the struggle they went through to gain many of the rights people now have over the government. “This revolution has left its mark on all of Latin Ameri ca,” he said. “Rebellion movements have been tragic, dra matic and comic, yet these memories have been forgotten.” The author described different sections of his book that explain the rebellion. The “ time of secret” incorporates the 10-year-span be tween 1983 and 1993 when a group of farmers began organ izing in the jungles and teaching the youth, especially women, how to use guns and speak Spanish. They called their secret armythe. EjSrcito Zapatista de Liberacidn Na .Turn to,Zapatistas, pages. .
