Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore marshaled their legal forces Sunday for a climactic state Supreme Court showdown, with GOP lawyers saying it would be unjust “to keep the state and the nation on hold” during interminable recounts. Democrats said the truth can’t be rushed, as jangled nerves and protests punctuated another painstaking day of south Florida vote counting.
With the long-count presidential election stretching into a third agonizing week, the court strategy of both camps reached critical mass: Republicans hope to stop manual recounts that threaten Bush’s 930-vote lead out of 6 million cast in make-or-break Florida; Democratic Gore wants the work to grind away, under rules most favorable to him, though his aides fretted Sunday over how little progress they’ve made in the slow-moving recounts.
The candidates kept a low profile as their lawyers prepared for a momentous Supreme Court hearing today. Each went for a jog and to church.
Calling these “extraordinary times,” Bush’s lawyers argued in court papers that Republican Secretary of State Katherine Harris has the authority to certify election results without accepting hand counts. They also said allowing the recounts to continue in scattered Democratic-leaning counties would violate the constitutional rights of voters elsewhere.
“The selective manual recounts authorize county boards to engage in arbitrary and unequal counting of votes, and result in the disparate treatment of Florida voters based solely on where within the state they happen to reside,” Bush argued.
In a separate brief, Harris tried to distance herself from both Bush and Gore, even as Democrats pointed to her GOP presidential campaigning as a sign of bias. All seven Supreme Court justices were appointed by Democratic governors.
“It is clear, that for the Democrats and the Republicans, the object is to win, and that is understandable,” Harris’ brief said. “The stakes are very high.”
In its paper reply, the Gore team asked the court to set a generous standard for officials to “ascertain the electorate’s will” when ballots were punched in the disputed presidential election. They said local election officials in close cases can “determine the voter’s intent” by closely examining the ballot.
Twelve days after America voted, the weekend tally of overseas absentee ballots lengthened Bush’s tiny 300-vote lead to a still-minuscule 930.
With recounts under way in two Democratic-leaning counties and a third set to begin, Gore had a net gain of 93 votes, which if allowed would cut Bush’s lead to 837. On Sunday, both sides objected to county vote-counting procedures.
Gore narrowly won the national popular vote and holds a slight edge over Bush in the all-important Electoral College tally, though neither man can reach the required total of 270 electoral votes without Florida’s 25.
