Staff of Miami Herald Wins Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting of Vote Fraud
From April 12, 1999 Associate Press Story:
Reporters exposed pervasive voter fraud in a mayoral election that was later overturned.
Executive Editor Douglas Clifton said the computer-assisted probe is ``what newspapers are supposed to do.''
The paper documented hundreds of phony, tainted or illegal ballots by computer analysis and old-fashioned reporting, tracing a web of conspirators and linking them to a victorious mayoral candidate.
Last year, the courts overturned the election and appointed the defeated candidate mayor of Miami. In addition, 26 people have been arrested and officials cracked down on loopholes in voting rules while increasing punishments for vote fraud.
In its entry, the newspaper said it was following ``the most idealistic journalistic notion: Publish the truth, despite the obstacles, and society wins.'' In this case, the obstacles were a hostile city administration, a public campaign accusing the paper of ethnic bias and attempted intimidation.
Polk County
VIP Polk County FL Report
Upgraded Equipment to Address Over-Vote Problem, November 17, 2000
VIP has completed its report of the November 1996 Polk County election. A grand jury has already been convened in the case. Normally, VIP would not investigate where authorities are already involved, but has become convinced that the situation has become so highly politicized, it is worth our efforts to determine whether ballot security was breached and how such a situation can be avoided in the future.
Other Polk County items:
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