Florida
Recount at a Glance
Tuesday November 28 3:10 AM ET
By The Associated Press,
Developments in the Florida
presidential election recount:
COURTS:
-Democrat Al Gore (news
- web
sites), seeking to overturn Florida's
certification of Republican George W. Bush (news
- web
sites) as the winner of the state's decisive 25
electoral votes, challenged the results from Palm
Beach, Miami-Dade and Nassau counties in state court
Monday. His filing said certification totals ``include
illegal votes and do not include legal votes that were
improperly rejected. The number of such votes is more
than sufficient to place in doubt, indeed to change
the result of the election.''
-A Democratic lawsuit accusing
Republicans of tampering with 4,700 absentee ballot
applications in Seminole County, near Orlando, was
moved to Leon County court in Tallahassee. Hearing
scheduled for 8:30 a.m.
-A lawsuit over Palm Beach County's
``butterfly ballot'' was sent to the state Supreme
Court, which asked for legal briefs by 5 p.m. Tuesday.
A hearing in West Palm Beach also was scheduled for 11
a.m. Some Democrats complained the ballot was so
confusing that they mistakenly cast votes for Pat
Buchanan (news
- web
sites) instead of Gore. They are seeking a new
election in the county, something Republicans say is
illegal.
-The Bush campaign has filed state
lawsuits in Hillsborough, Okaloosa, Orange, Pasco and
Polk counties, saying canvassing boards improperly
rejected overseas absentee ballots, including those
that were not dated or postmarked. The GOP want the
counties ordered to count the ballots.
-The Rev. Al Sharpton filed a
federal lawsuit in Miami on Monday, saying state
certification before Miami-Dade County could complete
a manual recount of ballots disenfranchised minority
voters. Bush and Florida elections officials were
named as defendants.
-The U.S. Supreme Court (news
- web
sites) will hear a Bush appeal Friday seeking to
bar hand-counted ballots from being added to the final
tally.
QUOTES:
-``This is America. When votes are
cast, we count them. We don't arbitrarily set them
aside because it's too difficult to count them.'' -
Gore in prime-time televised speech Monday night.
-``We may just open our own
transition office.'' - Andy Card, Bush's choice for
White House chief of staff.
-``We can't continue to hold the
process up while he is in denial.'' - Rep. J.C. Watts,
R-Okla.
-``I do not believe that George W.
Bush can take the oath of office (or) has any moral
authority on the certification that does not include
thousands of votes here in Florida that have not been
counted even once.'' - Rep. Bob Menendez, D-N.J.
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