By David Drucker
Daily Bruin Reporter
Gov. George W. Bush maintained a 300-vote lead over Vice
President Al Gore in Florida at the close of business Tuesday.
And even though all 67 counties have now been certified by
Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, the vote recount saga
continues.
Both sides were in Florida Circuit Court Tuesday morning, as the
Gore campaign attempted to get an injunction against Harris’s
order from the previous day.
She announced Monday that in accordance with Florida election
law, all counties must certify their votes by 5 p.m. Tuesday or
they would be disregarded.
After six judges recused themselves from hearing the injunction
request, Judge Terry Lewis upheld Harris’s deadline.
Though the ruling meant that the deadline held firm, the judge
gave Harris the discretion to review results from hand counts that
continued beyond the deadline and admit them into the final count
if she deems it proper.
“As Judge Lewis indicated in his opinion, the secretary
will evaluate that request on applicable facts and
circumstances,” attorney Donna Blanton, speaking for Harris,
told CNN. “From this point forward, it is the intention of
the secretary to perform her duties in connection with the
certification of this election.”
The reaction was swift.
“If the secretary of state arbitrarily refuses to accept
the amended returns based on the recount and violates what the
court has ruled … which is to accept those results unless she has
good reason not to, then we will be back in court,” Gore
legal team member David Boies told the Associated Press.
Former Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Gore’s lead
representative in the Florida, said this was a victory of sorts for
the vice president.
“The court’s opinion on this point is tantamount to
the injunction that we sought,” Christopher said.
Bush spokeswoman Mindy Tucker saw things differently.
“The Bush campaign disagrees with that,” she said,
adding that the Gore camp is looking for “any glimmer of
light” in pursuing hand counts.
In addition to Palm Beach County, Broward, Miami-Dade and
Volusia Counties are continuing with hand recounts. Officials in
Volusia County plan to appeal Lewis’s ruling.
All of this came on the heels of a compromise offered by the
Bush camp at a Tuesday morning press conference. Former secretary
of state James A. Baker III ““ Bush’s lead negotiator
““ asked Gore to accept the offer for the good of the
country.
“Both sides should agree to accept the vote count of all
counties at the statutory deadline,” Baker said.
He proposed that each candidate await the results of the
overseas absentee ballots, and abide by that result, which is
expected Saturday.
In exchange, Baker added, the respective campaigns would drop
all legal action.
Gore campaign chairman Bill Daley reacted swiftly.
“The proposal was just a reiteration of what the secretary
of state laid out yesterday,” he told CNN. “It was
truly not a proposal. What happens in Florida will be determined by
the courts, not by representatives of these two
campaigns.”
With reports from Daily Bruin wire services.
FLORIDA RECOUNT The vote totals from all 67
counties are certified, but absentee balots have until Friday to
arrive. Candidate Popular vote Florida GEORGE W. BUSH
(Republican) 49,200,915
2,910,492 AL GORE (Democrat)
49,398,018 2,910,192
Bush’s advantage 300 Source: www.CNN.com Original graphic by JACOB
LIAO/Daily Bruin Web adaptation by ROBERT LIU/Daily Bruin Senior
Staff