TRANSCRIPT KENDALL COFFEY
COMMENTARY
CNN Headline Prime News
RE: FLORIDA PRIMARY RECOUNT (Clip from YouTube)
RICHELLE CAREY: (already in progress) "the votes, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who is a Republican is urging the state and national party officials to work something out:"
"I want the next president to be Republican, you know, but I feel for my fellow Floridians who happen to be Democrats, their voice should be heard just as much as anybody else's. I'm the governor for all the people of Florida and I want to make sure that democracy matters and that whether you are a Republican, a Democrat or an independent, if you live in Florida, I want to make sure that your vote counts."
RICHELLE: Joining me now from Miami to try to sort all this mess out is former U.S. attorney Kendall Coffey, who is an expert in this area. Coffey was heavily involved in the legal issues in the Florida recount battle eight years ago. What recount? What are we talking about? Ha! Ha!
KENDALL COFFEY: What recount? And here we go again.
RICHELLE: And here we go again. Kendall, thank you so much for joining us. Alright. Lawmakers in Florida and Michigan were warned what would happen if they changed the date. What did they think would happen if they changed the date Kendall?
KENDALL COFFEY: Well they probably hoped for the best. But I think the worst they thought was going to happen was that they would lose half their delegates.
RICHELLE: Kendall, I actually have to interrupt you- if you could sit tight - we are going to a press conference right now about the murder of a co-ed in N. Carolina. If you could sit tight for just a moment we will join this press conference in progress.
(News Conference)
RICHELLE: To do so would invalidate the votes. Florida governor Charlie Crist who is a Republican is urging the state and national party officials to work something out.
"I want the next president to be Republican, you know, but I feel for my fellow Floridians who happen to be Democrats, their voice should be heard just as much as anybody else's. I'm the governor for all the people of Florida and I want to make sure that democracy matters and that whether you are a Republican, a Democrat or an independent, if you live in Florida, I want to make sure that your vote counts."
RICHELLE: Joining us again to sort out this mess, it doesn't have to be a mess, is former U.S. attorney Kendall Coffey, who is an expert in this area. Coffey was heavily involved in legal issues for the Gore campaign in the Florida recount battle eight years ago.
Alright Kendall, let's try this again. Lawmakers in Florida and Michigan were told there would be consequences if they moved up the date. What was the motivation to move up the date? And what did they think would happen?
KENDALL COFFEY: Well, who the heck knows what politicians are really thinking? But I think the big miscalculation here is - the worst they thought they were facing was to lose half their delegates. That's what the rules normally provide is going to be the punishment if you move to the wrong month. And that is the sanctions of the punishment the Republican Party imposed. Obviously they were wrong and the consequences have led us to a potential election disaster.
RICHELLE: There are also other states that also moved their dates. Were they granted waivers?
KENDALL COFFEY: Only the states that moved and got waivers - states that were already January states who moved a few days earlier in January. Michigan and Florida were the only February states that tried to jump into January, and so those are the ones that are getting the full punishment from the party.
RICHELLE: Okay, thanks for making that clear for us. Okay, we're talking about lots of votes. Lots of votes and a really, really close election. Explain to us what the options are Kendall.
KENDALL COFFEY: Well, the easiest thing to do - may be the most difficult from the standpoint of some is for the Democratic National Party to simply say we'll cede all the delegates or we'll cede half of them. You could also have a new process in the form of caucuses. You remember those public meetings like they used in Iowa and Nevada, or there could be a new state-wide election. Even some folks are talking about a state-wide mail-in election. The problem is like everything else RICHELLE, the better the option, the more it costs.
RICHELLE: Before I get to who's going to pay, what do you think is the most likely outcome?
KENDALL COFFEY: Well, I think something's got to happen in terms of making those votes count. And those votes valid. You can't simply write Florida and Michigan off the map if you are going to have a serious chance of the Democrats winning in November. Right now the most realistic thing may be a mail-in election. Don't know where the money's going to come from, but consider this - the two Democratic Party candidates together raised $90 million. An election like this might cost $6 or $7 million. Maybe if the state party and the national party, and perhaps others can put up some money, the Florida and the Michigan voters will have a chance to participate in what may be the most important and certainly most exciting presidential nomination process in our lifetime.
RICHELLE: Kendall, who has to sign off on this? Does everybody have to say I'm okay with it?
KENDALL COFFEY: Well, it depends on the process. But if you use something like a mail-in election, it doesn't require the government processes of the local supervisor of elections and things like that. It could just be done by the state party with the concurrence of the national party. But, the state party has said that they want both candidates to fully participate in any new process meaning both candidates have a veto, somebody has to talk to somebody to work this out but after all it is the season for back room deals.
RICHELLE: Yes, it is. Are you having any nightmares or visions of hanging chads, Kendall?
KENDALL COFFEY: At 3:00 in the morning; all coming back only last time it was thousands of voters and hanging chads. This time, unless something's done there could be millions of voters being left hanging out to dry.
RICHELLE: Stay by the phone Kendall. I'm sure we're going to need you again. Former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey. Thanks Kendall.
