Taking the stand and passing the buck

Florida's controversial Secretary of State Katherine Harris defends her actions during the election before a skeptical Civil Rights Commission.

By Daryl Lindsey

Jan 12, 2001 | Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris testified under oath Friday at a public hearing in Tallahassee of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. In her sometimes-tense appearance before the commission, which is looking into possible voting irregularities in Florida, Harris said that no citizens were denied the right to vote in the controversial Nov. 7 election, but acknowledged that the system needed reform. Her testimony -- which included a frequent disavowal of responsibility for various aspects of the election -- led to some pointed questions from the commissioners, most of whom appeared highly skeptical of Harris' responses.

Harris' testimony marked the final session in two days of Tallahassee public hearings held by the USHRC. The eight-member commission will issue a preliminary report in 60 days and then submit its final findings to Congress and President-elect George W. Bush for consideration by summer.

On Thursday, the panel heard testimony from Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who disavowed responsibility for election irregularities, stating that minding the election was the responsibility of the secretary of state, an independently elected member of the governor's executive cabinet. On Friday, Harris in her turn passed the buck, saying she delegated "day-to-day" responsibilities for running elections and guarding against irregularities on Election Day to Clay Roberts, the head of the state's Division of Elections. She also stated that county elections commissions were responsible for replacing inadequate equipment and conducting voter education initiatives.

The trend of downward finger pointing among senior state officials was ridiculed by USHRC commissioner Victoria Wilson, who seemed on the verge of spitting nails at Harris. Wilson described the shirking of responsibility as a "trickle down effect."

Harris, whom Democrats bitterly attacked for conflict of interest after she issued several key rulings that helped the GOP candidate, whose Florida presidential campaign she co-chaired, said at the outset that she wouldn't answer questions about particular allegations of election improprieties. As secretary of state, Harris said, she oversaw operations of seven different departments, with each division managed by a division director, like Roberts. "I will refer you to Mr. Roberts for particulars on implementation of election code," Harris said to the irritation of the commissioners, who obviously felt the secretary of state was trying to shirk her responsibilities.

Commissioner Cruz Reynoso pointedly asked Harris why she had placed such an emphasis on delegation of her responsibility as secretary of state. "You're the one who's responsible," he said. "It's your responsibility to provide standards."

As if on cue, Harris delegated the question to Roberts, who was seated next to her. "Nowhere in the statutes does it provide the Secretary of State with the ability to apply additional rules. We cannot engage in rulemaking without the authority to make the rule. We were without authority," he said. Reynoso retorted that there must be an incongruity in the law, and later charged, "I am unpersuaded by your testimony."

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