Fraud In Mayoral Election
local6.com
POSTED: 10:35 PM EDT May 21, 2004
UPDATED: 10:54 PM EDT May 21, 2004
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is looking into allegations of vote tampering in the recent Orlando mayoral election. Buddy Dyer's re-election to a second term on March 9 has been dogged by accusations of ballot fraud.
Thursday, FDLE investigators took documents from the office of the Orange County Supervisor of Elections, assistant Orange County attorney Woody Rodriguez said Friday.
Dyer received 12,417 votes, or just under 51 percent of the vote. Had he polled under 50 percent, he would have gone into a runoff against runner-up Ken Mulvaney, a businessman and former pub owner.
Mulvaney received more than 30 percent of the vote, with three other candidates splitting the remainder.
On Monday, Mulvaney and third-place finisher Lawanna Gelzer presented the FDLE with statements from voters alleging fraud. A subpoena then was served upon the elections office Thursday, Rodriguez said.
"I'm hoping that the FDLE has more information than I got and possibly have enough information to make the claims I've made credible -- that there was some sort, which I believe, of voter fraud," Mulvaney told Local 6 News.
FDLE regional director Joyce Sankey Dawley would confirm only that investigators had visited the elections office. A call to the office after business hours Friday went unanswered.
Also Friday, the city's canvassing board filed a motion for summary judgment in Dyer's favor. The city's motion claims Mulvaney and Gelzer cannot show there were enough illegal votes to force a runoff.
A circuit judge is expected to hear arguments on the motion next month.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.
May 21, 2004
FDLE Investigating Claims of Fraud in Orlando Mayoral Election
The Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is looking into allegations of vote tampering in the recent Orlando mayoral election.
Buddy Dyer's re-election to a second term on March 9 has been dogged by accusations of ballot fraud.
Thursday, FDLE investigators took documents from the office of the Orange County Supervisor of Elections, assistant Orange County attorney Woody Rodriguez said Friday.
Dyer received 12,417 votes, or just under 51 percent of the vote. Had he polled under 50 percent, he would have gone into a runoff against runner-up Ken Mulvaney, a businessman and former pub owner.
Mulvaney received more than 30 percent of the vote, with three other candidates splitting the remainder.
On Monday, Mulvaney and third-place finisher Lawanna Gelzer presented the FDLE with statements from voters alleging fraud. A subpoena then was served upon the elections office Thursday, Rodriguez said.
FDLE regional director Joyce Sankey Dawley would confirm only that investigators had visited the elections office. A call to the office after business hours Friday went unanswered.
Also Friday, the city's canvassing board filed a motion for summary judgment in Dyer's favor. The city's motion claims Mulvaney and Gelzer cannot show there were enough illegal votes to force a runoff.
A circuit judge is expected to hear arguments on the motion next month.
AP-ES-05-21-04 1759EDT
This story can be found at: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/florida/MGB0GQ5UIUD.html