BOSTON--About 30 Harvard students joined forces with other Boston-area residents Saturday to protest the unfair handling of the Florida ballots from last week's presidential election.

Saturday's protest, which took place across the street from the State House, was part of a nationwide effort coordinated via www.countercoup.org., a website where activists could post messages and help coordinate simultaneous rallies in cities nationwide.

According to Harpaul A. Kohli '02, who helped organize students in Boston for the protest, the main purpose of the rally was to "demonstrate throughout the country widespread support that the vote in Florida be counted in a fair manner."

Kohli estimated that of the 250 to 300 people who participated in the protest, 30 were from Harvard.

At the protest, Kohli not only led Harvard students, but also took charge of the entire group, leading chants such as "Trust The People" and "Fair, Not Fast."

He emphasized beforehand that participants should make an effort to be non-partisan, since the protest was promoting fair elections rather than one particular candidate.

Amy C. Offner '01-- one of the campus organizers for Green Party candidate Ralph Nader--said she attended the protest to make a statement about democracy.

"Twenty-thousand ballots were thrown away, and those ballots matter very much in an election being decided by a few hundred votes," Offner said. "I'm here because I'm hoping for a revote in Palm Beach County. It's a procedural question of whether elections should represent the will of the people."