Florida Vote Deadline Looms With Thousands of Ballots Yet Uncounted
November 27, 2000 - 0:0
TALLAHASSEE, Florida With only hours to go to a Sunday afternoon deadline for the certification of Florida's disputed presidential election results, the White House hopes of Al Gore and George W. Bush hinged on just one county, AFP said last night.
Election officials in Palm Beach had until 5:00 p.m. (2200 GMT) to deliver their results to Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, who is expected to certify the statewide count shortly afterward in a move that could decide the presidency.
As the cutoff time loomed, Bush's lead over Gore, which had been as high as 930, dwindled to fewer than 500 as Broward County completed its manual recount just before midnight, delivering 563 votes to the vice president.
Palm Beach officials were racing against the clock to meet the deadline. CNN reported at 1445 GMT that the county had 3,600 ballots remaining for review.
However, the outcome in Florida the key to victory for both candidates still may depend on the U.S. Supreme Court which has agreed to a request from the Bush camp to hear a challenge to the validity of the manual recounts.
That hearing in Washington is set for Friday, and Gore supporters have vowed a vigorous defense of the Florida Supreme Court ruling that forced the state to accept the recounts while challenging results in several counties.
Gore's chief lawyer, David Boies, told reporters that once Harris certified the state results, the campaign would contest the results in Miami-Dade and Nassau counties and was looking closely at Palm Beach.
The Democrats allege, among other complaints, that Miami-Dade halted its recount on Wednesday under pressure from vocal Bush supporters who they maintain intimidated the county canvassing board.
In Palm Beach, they say, officials were too strict in rejecting ballots, including some 19,000 that were double-punched by voters who said the form was confusing. The democrats also complain that Nassau vote counters filed the original results, even though they manually recounted the ballots.
The bush camp meanwhile filed lawsuits against five Florida counties that excluded hundreds of overseas military absentee ballots.
The Republicans say those ballots were improperly rejected and want them included in the final results.
Nationwide, Gore has a 262-246 edge over Bush in the split of decisive electoral votes awarded on a state-by-state basis, but Florida's 25 electors will put either man over the top in the electoral college where a majority 270 votes is needed to win the White House.
Election officials in Palm Beach had until 5:00 p.m. (2200 GMT) to deliver their results to Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, who is expected to certify the statewide count shortly afterward in a move that could decide the presidency.
As the cutoff time loomed, Bush's lead over Gore, which had been as high as 930, dwindled to fewer than 500 as Broward County completed its manual recount just before midnight, delivering 563 votes to the vice president.
Palm Beach officials were racing against the clock to meet the deadline. CNN reported at 1445 GMT that the county had 3,600 ballots remaining for review.
However, the outcome in Florida the key to victory for both candidates still may depend on the U.S. Supreme Court which has agreed to a request from the Bush camp to hear a challenge to the validity of the manual recounts.
That hearing in Washington is set for Friday, and Gore supporters have vowed a vigorous defense of the Florida Supreme Court ruling that forced the state to accept the recounts while challenging results in several counties.
Gore's chief lawyer, David Boies, told reporters that once Harris certified the state results, the campaign would contest the results in Miami-Dade and Nassau counties and was looking closely at Palm Beach.
The Democrats allege, among other complaints, that Miami-Dade halted its recount on Wednesday under pressure from vocal Bush supporters who they maintain intimidated the county canvassing board.
In Palm Beach, they say, officials were too strict in rejecting ballots, including some 19,000 that were double-punched by voters who said the form was confusing. The democrats also complain that Nassau vote counters filed the original results, even though they manually recounted the ballots.
The bush camp meanwhile filed lawsuits against five Florida counties that excluded hundreds of overseas military absentee ballots.
The Republicans say those ballots were improperly rejected and want them included in the final results.
Nationwide, Gore has a 262-246 edge over Bush in the split of decisive electoral votes awarded on a state-by-state basis, but Florida's 25 electors will put either man over the top in the electoral college where a majority 270 votes is needed to win the White House.