Theresa LePore
Encyclopedia
Theresa LePore is a former Supervisor of Elections for Palm Beach County, Florida
. She is most notable as the person who designed the infamous "butterfly ballot", used in the 2000 presidential election. This would lead the press
to nickname her "Madame Butterfly." Following the controversial results of the 2000 election, she lost her re-election bid in September 2004 and left office in January 2005.
in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach State College in Lake Worth and Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.
She started her career in the Supervisor of Elections Office in 1971 as a file clerk. She quickly rose through the ranks and achieved the position of Chief Deputy Supervisor in the late 1970's. During the 1980s she also moonlighted as a ramp clerk at Palm Beach International Airport
.
LePore was a registered Democrat. After the 2000 election, she switched her party registration to No Party Affiliation.
LePore is (or was) a member of the following organizations:
She was elected as the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections in November, 1996 and re-elected without opposition in November, 2000. After leaving the Supervisor of Elections Office in January, 2005, she was employed by the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office for a short period, enabling her to receive her full pension from Palm Beach County.
She then worked at her alma mater, Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, Florida as director of development. until January 2009.
She is writing a book about the 2000 election and the butterfly ballot she designed.
In 2000, to accommodate the large number of Presidential candidates eligible in Florida, LePore designed a staggered two-page format with candidate names on alternating sides of a central punch button column. Under her predecessor Jackie Winchester, in the 1996 election the butterfly ballot caused an estimated 14,000 votes for the second candidate on the left (Bob Dole
) to be miscast, but this did not affect the election outcome and went unnoticed at the time. In the 2000 election, the miscast votes would have been a decisive reversal and consequently achieved notoriety. A study by the "The Palm Beach Post
" speculated that voters confused by Palm Beach County's butterfly ballot cost Al Gore the presidency.
Responding to public anger at the punch card systems, LePore bought paperless DRE voting machine
s from Sequoia Voting Systems in 2002. This choice came under fire from voting experts, notably Rebecca Mercuri
.
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. She is most notable as the person who designed the infamous "butterfly ballot", used in the 2000 presidential election. This would lead the press
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
to nickname her "Madame Butterfly." Following the controversial results of the 2000 election, she lost her re-election bid in September 2004 and left office in January 2005.
Education
LePore grew up in Palm Beach County, attending Cardinal Newman High SchoolCardinal Newman High School (West Palm Beach, Florida)
Cardinal Newman High School, also commonly referred to as Cardinal Newman or simply Newman, is a Catholic coeducational secondary school located in West Palm Beach Florida, USA. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach...
in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach State College in Lake Worth and Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.
She started her career in the Supervisor of Elections Office in 1971 as a file clerk. She quickly rose through the ranks and achieved the position of Chief Deputy Supervisor in the late 1970's. During the 1980s she also moonlighted as a ramp clerk at Palm Beach International Airport
Palm Beach International Airport
Palm Beach International Airport is a public airport located 3 nautical miles west of Palm Beach, Florida, in West Palm Beach, Florida, and serves Palm Beach County. The airport is operated and maintained by Palm Beach County Department of Airports. Road access to the airport is available...
.
LePore was a registered Democrat. After the 2000 election, she switched her party registration to No Party Affiliation.
LePore is (or was) a member of the following organizations:
- American Society of Public Administration
- The Election Center
- KiwanisKiwanisKiwanis International is an international, coeducational service club founded in 1915. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. Current membership is 240,000 members in 7,700 clubs in 80 nations...
of Flagler Sunrise - League of Women VotersLeague of Women VotersThe League of Women Voters is an American political organization founded in 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt during the last meeting of the National American Woman Suffrage Association approximately six months before the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote...
- International Association of Clerks, Recorders, Election Officials and Treasurers
- Women's Chamber of CommerceChamber of commerceA chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...
of the Palm BeachesPalm Beach County, FloridaPalm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in total area, and third in population. As of 2010, the county's estimated population was 1,320,134, making it the twenty-eighth most populous in the United States... - Florida State Association of Supervisors of Election. Theresa served terms as Secretary, Vice-President, and President of FSASE.
- Executive Women of the Palm Beaches
- The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of PBC
- Hispanic Human Resources Council
- Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida
She was elected as the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections in November, 1996 and re-elected without opposition in November, 2000. After leaving the Supervisor of Elections Office in January, 2005, she was employed by the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office for a short period, enabling her to receive her full pension from Palm Beach County.
She then worked at her alma mater, Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, Florida as director of development. until January 2009.
She is writing a book about the 2000 election and the butterfly ballot she designed.
Election Controversies
Bob Dole
Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
) to be miscast, but this did not affect the election outcome and went unnoticed at the time. In the 2000 election, the miscast votes would have been a decisive reversal and consequently achieved notoriety. A study by the "The Palm Beach Post
The Palm Beach Post
The Palm Beach Post is a major daily newspaper in Florida, serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and the Treasure Coast area. It is the 72nd largest daily newspaper in the United States and the sixth largest in Florida.-History:...
" speculated that voters confused by Palm Beach County's butterfly ballot cost Al Gore the presidency.
Responding to public anger at the punch card systems, LePore bought paperless DRE voting machine
DRE voting machine
A direct-recording electronic voting machine records votes by means of a ballot display provided with mechanical or electro-optical components that can be activated by the voter ; that processes data by means of a computer program; and that records voting data and ballot images in memory components...
s from Sequoia Voting Systems in 2002. This choice came under fire from voting experts, notably Rebecca Mercuri
Rebecca Mercuri
Dr. Rebecca Mercuri, Ph.D is an expert in computer security, especially in electronic voting where she has been researching, writing about, and testifying since 1989...
.