This comes from Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century: Friday night, June 13, DL21C, along with Screening Liberally, invite you to the first of several special screenings of the recent HBO movie, Recount, about the historic 2000 election starring Kevin Spacey, Denis Leary, Laura Dern and Tom Wilkinson. Joining us will be Christine Jennings, a Florida Congressional candidate ( Sarasota ), who lost her 2006 election by fewer than 400 votes, prompting a machine recount and special investigation. Jennings is running again in one of the hottest Congressional races this cycle, so this is a fun opportunity to enjoy a (free!) Friday night movie and hear from a candidate who has lived through hanging chads and butterfly ballots! Christine will be introduced by our very own State Senator Liz Krueger. We'll be screening Recount again later this summer, but hope you can make it Friday night to meet Christine and Senator Krueger! * * * DL21C, along with Screening Liberally, invite you to A Special Movie Screening of HBO’s Recount Friday, June 13 7:00pm (Movie begins promptly at 7:20pm and runs 110 minutes) DCTV Screening Room 87 Lafayette Street (between Broadway and Centre Streets) 6/N/R/Q/W/J/M/Z to Canal Street www.dctvny.org Refreshments available for purchase during the film, and after-film drinks and discussion will follow. This event is free! RSVP Here! About Recount (from HBO website): Recount brings viewers behind the scenes at the controversial Florida recount. The film pulls back the veil on the headlines to explore the human drama surrounding the most controversial presidential election in U.S. history. Mixing news footage and verbatim dialogue into fictionalized re-creations, Recount examines the torturous process that culminated in the Supreme Court decision in Bush vs. Gore. The Republicans, led by charismatic Texan James Baker, seize the initiative as the case is tried in the judicial system and the court of public opinion. The Democrats play catch-up until Ron Klain, Gore's former chief of staff, takes over and starts matching Baker's political hardball with tough moves of his own. Mutual respect forms between the two as the fate of the presidency plays out among a colorful cast ranging from the impressive (appellate lawyer David Boies) to the maligned (Florida's Secretary of State Katherine Harris) and many more of the characters involved in this historic election fight. About Christine Jennings: Christine Jennings (www.christinejenningsforcongress.com) has been a member of the Sarasota community for 23 years, working her way up from bank teller to president of the bank she founded at a time when women executives were rare. On her way to the top of the banking world, Christine served in numerous leadership positions with various banks before serving as President, CEO, Chairman of the Board and Director of Sarasota Bank. Christine was born and raised in New Boston, Ohio, the daughter of a Steelworker. Her father was a disabled WWII veteran and a minister and her mother ran a beauty parlor out of her own home. At 17, Christine got a job as a bank teller where the decision making skills and self discipline her parents taught her helped her succeed. In 1984 Christine moved to Sarasota and has been actively involved in the community ever since, serving in leadership roles in a number of civic and charitable groups over the years including serving as President of the Sarasota Downtown Association, President of the Sarasota Film Festival, Board Member of the Community AIDS Network and Board Member of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Sarasota County among others. She is running after being narrowly defeated in one of the closest Congressional elections in Florida history and has focused her efforts since 2006 on cleaning up Florida’s antiquated voting machines and systems. About Christine Jennings' 2006 Election and Recount (from the Cook Political Report): In the 2006 election, election officials certified Republican businessman Vern Buchanan as the winner of the race over Jennings by 369 votes. Buchanan was declared the winner after a mandatory recount and analysis of alleged voting machine errors in the race. The controversy in this race was that over 18,000 ballots, roughly 1 in 6, cast in Sarasota County apparently did not register a vote for this race, far higher than in the two previous elections. Sarasota County voted for Jennings by a 6 point margin. Jennings filed an appeal for an investigation of the election with the House Administration Committee. The GAO investigation proved inconclusive and Buchanan was named the winner. Sarasota County has since moved to optical scanned paper ballots as a result of a 2006 referendum vote.