On the scene with John Zarrella in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

CNN Miami Bureau Chief John Zarrella spoke with CNN.com from the Voter Equipment Center in Fort Lauderdale, where officials conducted the election recount for Broward County.

November 8, 2000
Web posted at: 7:06 p.m. EST (0006 GMT)

John Zarrella

Q: What measures are being taken to reduce possible voter fraud during this recount?

ZARRELLA: What is going on in the recount here in Florida is that in every one of the 67 counties where recounts are now under way, representatives from both the Democratic and Republican parties, are on hand as monitors. They are monitoring to make sure if any discrepancies arise, if any issues arise, then they can be available to address the issues or pass the information on to other party officials and then take action from there.

In Broward County, which is the second largest voting county in the state, there were representatives from both parties here at the location where they are recounting. They also had some legal representatives with them in case any legal questions were to arise. And, of course, there are some very senior officials of the Republican and Democratic parties who have flown into Florida today to take charge.

Q: Who is ultimately in charge of the recount?

ZARRELLA: The state of Florida's supervisor of elections and the Elections Commission for Florida in Tallahassee are ultimately in charge. The supervisor of elections within each of Florida's 67 counties is responsible for his or her respective county and the recount there.

Q: How is the recount being conducted? Are people manually counting each ballot or are the ballots being fed through computers?

ZARRELLA: I can tell you that here in Broward County and in most of the counties in Florida the way that it is being handled is through computers. There are counting machines that can count from 500-800 ballots every 10 minutes. They are using these counting machines by the half dozen in some places, a dozen in other places. They are using those counting machines non-stop, feeding the ballots in. So, it's actually a very quick process considering the numbers you are looking at.

It is my understanding that there are a few of the smaller counties in the state where they may in fact be hand-counting the ballots over.

Q: News reports say the recount must be completed by the end of Thursday business day. Can you elaborate on that point: Is that mandated by law or who set that as the deadline?

ZARRELLA: No one has actually put a hard, fast deadline on when it has to be completed. The bottom line is that they want it done in the way Attorney General Bob Butterworth put it today: They want this done right, they want this done correctly. That is what the state of Florida owes the American people and both parties. They want to make sure that it is an absolutely fair no-issues, no-problems recount.

Q: What is security like at the buildings where the recounts are taking place?

ZARRELLA: Here in Broward County, there are police officers stationed at the door. There are Broward County Sheriff Officer cars all around the building. They're not cordoning off the building, but there are police cars present and visible. When you get inside the counting area, there are two glass-enclosed rooms. No one can go in there but the election officials and the representatives of the two parties. Outside of the only door that leads into these rooms, there are Broward County sheriff's officers posted there.

Q: Are election officials upset with the news media there for jumping the gun, first calling the state for Gore and then for Bush?

ZARRELLA: There have been a lot of those questions. I think most of the initial anger over that was vented last night. By today, the talk was really focused more on how topsy-turvy Florida has made this election.

In reality, when you look at it, the entire nation is split right down the middle. So, for Florida to be split down the middle and to be the lightning rod of what's happening shouldn't be a real surprise.