DIMPLE THIEF DISTORTS THE SIMPLE TRUTH GORE MUST STOP DISENFRANCHISING THE MILITARY AND CONCEDE DEFEAT.

Byline: Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon

BY trying to get so-called dimpled ballots counted as votes, and by systematically disqualifying votes cast by U.S. military personnel serving overseas, Al Gore is continuing to try to win through the Democrat-controlled courts and county elections boards what he couldn't win at the ballot box.

George W. Bush clearly won Florida's election through a full and fair count and recount. Gore then got three heavily Democratic counties to conduct a partial hand recount, which is rife with opportunities for mistakes, bias and outright election fraud.

Even then, however, Gore came up short. Now, he is trying to get ballots with slight indentations counted for him, arguing that a slight ``dimple'' indicates a voter's intent. In fact, it is just as likely a sign of a voter's indecision. Given the closeness of Florida's election, it isn't surprising that some people started to vote for one candidate, then changed their minds after making a slight dent in the ballot.

It is impossible to determine the intent of a voter who left a dimple on the ballot rather than voting. That is one reason why Florida statutes allow hand recounts only in the case of emergency or a machine malfunction.

Gore's desperate attempt to get dimples counted as votes is bad enough. More outrageous, however, are his efforts - through a five-page memo distributed by a Democratic lawyer - to systematically disqualify more than 1,400 ballots cast by military personnel serving overseas.

As a member of the House Committee on Armed Services, I am infuriated by this illegal attempt to deny our brave men and women their right to vote.

Were it not for the sacrifices of America's military, Gore wouldn't have an election to steal in the first place. How can Gore be commander in chief of a military after denying those under his command the right to vote?

I demand that Vice President Gore immediately drop his objections to the overseas military ballots and join with Bush in demanding that every one of them be counted.

Gore has also gotten a partisan Democratic court to rewrite Florida's clear, unambiguous election statutes with one purpose in mind: to fix the election for Gore. In one lawless step, the Supreme Court ignored the plain language of Florida statutes, substituted its judgment for that of the Legislature and executive branch, and failed to honor the trial court's proper role as finder of fact.

In order to justify this judicial coup, the Supreme Court claimed there was a ``conflict'' in Florida statutes, a contention that is proved false by a brief look at the statutes. One statute authorizes hand recounts in the event of an emergency or a machine malfunction (none of which occurred). The other statute requires counties to submit all their counts to the secretary of state within seven days of the election.

These simple statutes do not conflict in any way. They were the well-considered product of the Florida Legislature, which properly exercised its discretion under the U.S. and Florida constitutions to enact legislation to ensure an accurate, timely and final counting of all votes.

A full count and full recount occurred pursuant to Florida law and clearly established George W. Bush as the winner. The Florida secretary of state, pursuant to her proper role in executing election laws, appropriately set a deadline of 5 p.m. Nov. 14 for counties to certify their vote totals.

These are simple steps, mandated by statute, and which were upheld by a Democratic trial court judge. But they were overturned by a Supreme Court whose actions resulted in creating more uncertainty rather than bringing finality to this election.

It's time for every American who believes in fairness, the rule of law and the Constitution to call on Gore to end this outrage and concede the election to George W. Bush.