Florida Supreme Court: recount can continue

The decision, which came two weeks after the election, gives the Gore camp a chance to chip away at Republican candidate George W. Bush's narrow lead, which according to unofficial results stood at 930 out of 5.8 million votes cast in the state that is crucial in the race for the White House. Waters said the court, in a 42-page decision, had reversed two orders of the trial court on the basis of "long-standing rules" to allow the recounts to continue.

"In dealing with similar conflicts in the past, the court has consistently held that the right of the people to cast their vote is the paramount concern, overriding all others," he said. Waters said amended returns were due by 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 26, if Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris' office is open on that day for the special purpose of receiving amended certifications. If the office is not open, he said, elections officials could submit amended tallies until 9 a.m. on Monday, November 27. It was 9:45 p.m. when the court issued its decision, which Gore lauded at 11 p.m. with a live, three-minute television address.

"The Florida Supreme Court has now spoken, and we will move forward now with a full, fair and accurate count of the ballots in question," he said. "I don't know what those ballots will show, I don't know whether (Texas) Governor Bush or I will prevail, but we do know that our democracy is the winner tonight." Gore suggested that he and Bush meet "to demonstrate the essential unity that keeps America strong and free." It was the second time that Gore issued the invitation, which Bush rejected when the vice president first issued it last Wednesday, saying, "once this election is over, I'll be glad to meet with Vice President Gore". But Gore's in issuing his invitation again suggested the meeting was necessary to guarantee a smooth transition of power on January 20. "I believe it's now appropriate for both of us to focus on the transition, to ensure that the new administration, whoever leads it, will be fully in place and fully prepared to lead. Our guiding principle must be what is good for our country," he said.

Bush's camp had hoped to have halted the recounts in the Democratic-leaning Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Gore's camp contested election results in those counties because of technical problems in the ballot system. The Bush camp has argued that manual recounts are subject to bias and human error, with spokeswoman Karen Hughes alleging last week that Florida officials were "distorting, reinventing and miscounting". It remains to be seen whether Gore gains enough votes in the recount to surpass Bush's lead. But without the amended certifications, Bush's lead guaranteed him the state's 25 Electoral College votes, pushing him over the 270-vote total necessary to take the White House.

(dpa)