BAY COUNTY, Florida - Election officials were asking workers to work overtime long into the night Tuesday to quickly settle primary vote-counting irregularities. Shadows of the 2000 election hung over the workers as they meticulously re-scanned all the ballots. "We all know the importance of this process," said election supervisor Mark Andersen, "We know the country is counting on us to get this right."

All 20,000 ballots cast are being recounted, which means Kerry's assumed Florida victory with 77% of the vote could actually be as low as 76.6%.

"We're on pins and needles," said Emma Splank, president of Retirees In Favor Of Kerry, "RIF-OK thought we had that 77% all tied up, but now all that's up in the air."

"It seems a shame to spend all that overtime money on this," argued Homer Glasgow, a sheet-metal worker with All Steel Lines, "Who cares if he won by 77% or 76%? They should put me in charge over there, I could find something better to do with all that money."

Bay County voters, though, see it as a worthwhile effort. "When history asks, 'How many people supported John Kerry for the 2004 Democratic presidential primary in Bay County, Florida?' I think we need to be able to give a definitive answer," insisted Mark Polen, Democratic voter and denture-wearer.

"It's about disenfranchisement," said a representative for Al Sharpton, "Do you want to be the one to tell those voters that their votes don't count one way or the other? I don't."
(email to a friend)