Florida Rejects Recounts

Seeking to force an end to the nation’s week-old election stalemate, Secretary of State Katherine Harris froze George W. Bush’s lead in Florida on Wednesday night and said she would declare a winner Saturday after the final overseas ballots are tallied.

At a news conference that capped a whiplashing day of developments, Harris said she considered--and rejected--appeals from four counties that sought to continue hand counting ballots into the weekend.

“It is my duty under Florida law to exercise my discretion and deny the requested amendments,” said Harris, a Republican and strong backer of Bush, the GOP presidential candidate.

The campaign of Vice President Al Gore planned to go to court this morning to seek a reversal of Harris’ decision. “There’s an attempt to bring the curtain down that I think is really unfortunate,” said Bill Daley, chairman of Gore’s campaign.

Harris acted hours after the Florida Supreme Court refused to stop the hand counting of ballots. Even before the ruling, workers in the Democratic stronghold of Broward County began a manual tally of nearly 600,000 ballots.

A federal appeals court in Atlanta, meanwhile, agreed to hear Bush’s lawsuit to block hand counting and preserve his 300-vote Florida lead pending the tabulation of overseas absentee ballots due Friday. A procedural hearing in that case is scheduled for this morning.

Even as Gore attempted to settle the impasse with an overture to Bush--which the Texas governor spurned--Harris thrust herself back to the center of the election controversy. Her decision effectively drew a line at Florida’s Tuesday cutoff for counties to report their results, although she acknowledged her word may not be the last. “The schedule, of course, is subject to judicial intervention,” she said.

Specifically, Harris denied requests from four of the state’s 67 counties to file amended returns, most of them after conducting hand counts the Gore team hoped would boost the vice president’s vote total.

She said that, after a six-hour analysis of her options and her discretionary authority, she decided none of the four counties had proved that an extension was warranted. Harris said she would certify the election results Saturday, after tallying the last overseas ballots.

Typically, these votes have mostly been cast by U.S. military personnel who lean Republican.

Ignoring the Tuesday deadline, officials in Broward County reversed course earlier Wednesday and voted, 2 to 1, along partisan lines to order a hand recount of the entire county, a Democratic stronghold that Gore operatives hoped would yield the vice president as many as 600 votes. But Gore had picked up only seven votes when the tallying stopped for the night after about 20,000 ballots.

County Judge Robert W. Lee, who had earlier voted against a hand count, joined fellow Democrat Suzanne Gunzburger in favor. Republican Jane C. Carroll was opposed.

Broward Recount Due to End Sunday

The recount of 588,000 ballots in Broward is expected to be finished by Sunday.

In Palm Beach County, election officials put off a hand count of their roughly 460,000 ballots pending a second ruling from the Florida Supreme Court as early as today. Officials there have received conflicting legal advice from Harris and Atty. Gen. Bob Butterworth, a Democrat, over what merits a hand count.

Elsewhere in the county, a judge asked attorneys to present arguments on whether it is legally feasible to hold a new election in Palm Beach County. Some Gore supporters complain that county’s “butterfly” ballot caused them to mistakenly vote for the Reform Party’s Pat Buchanan.

In Collier County, in southwestern Florida, election officials also asked for an extension of Tuesday’s cutoff after uncovering 24 unsealed absentee ballots while sorting empty envelopes during a postelection audit.

In Miami-Dade County, where the canvassing board rejected a full hand recount after a preliminary review, Democrats announced they would appeal that decision at a board hearing Friday.

Meanwhile, a world away--at a meeting of Pacific Rim leaders in Brunei--President Clinton sought to allay any concerns about the United States’ week-old election impasse. “The world can rest easy,” Clinton said.

More than a week after the Nov. 7 election, Gore leads Bush in the national popular vote. But Bush is ahead of Gore in Florida, pending further recounts and the remaining absentee ballots. The Sunshine State will determine the next president, since both candidates need Florida to capture the 270 electoral votes it takes to win the White House.

Harris’ announcement Wednesday night came after a daylong duel between legal teams that produced several court victories for Gore.

The secretary of state precipitated the day of courtroom drama when she filed an emergency petition early Wednesday asking the state’s highest court to block counties from proceeding with any further hand counting of ballots. She also asked the court to consolidate various lawsuits springing up around the state. Both requests were denied.

Urging quick and decisive action, Harris said: “The court must make it clear that the election of the president and the vice president is not a matter of local pleasure. It is, at the least, a statewide matter of concern.”

The Gore campaign immediately challenged Harris’ petition.

In its one-page ruling, the Supreme Court offered no reason for deciding against the secretary of state. “We have considered this petition and have determined that the petition should be denied without prejudice,” the court said, meaning it can be brought before another court.

The action marked the second time in three days that judges thwarted Bush’s effort to stop the manual recounting of ballots.

Judge Upholds Manual Recounting

In a second ruling Wednesday, the Supreme Court allowed a Palm Beach County lawsuit against Harris to go forward--another victory for Gore.

Even before the Supreme Court ruled, a judge in Palm Beach County upheld the county’s manual recounting of ballots. Circuit Court Judge Jorge LeBarga ruled that Florida law says “no vote” can be deemed “void or invalid” on its face. He said the local canvassing board has the right to reject incomplete ballots--but cannot dismiss them out of hand without looking at them closely.

LeBarga further ruled that county officials could include so-called “dimpled chads” in their hand count of ballots. “Chads” are the confetti-like pieces of paper that voters are supposed to punch out to mark their ballots. The chads are supposed to fall away from the ballot, but many remain partially connected or merely indented. A dimpled chad is one with a slight indentation.

Attorneys representing Palm Beach County, defending themselves against charges of election impropriety, argued the number of “dimpled” ballots was too small to even argue about. But LeBarga bristled at that contention, noting at one point that Bush was winning New Mexico by a mere four votes. “I don’t think we can call anybody’s vote insignificant,” he said.

But county officials wanted a clarification from the high court before proceeding.

Separately, LeBarga said when the hearing resumes Friday, he would consider whether the state Constitution allows a new election in the county. He asked attorneys for both sides to research the pertinent legal history to help him decide. “Find a case in the continental United States, since 1776,” he instructed lawyers. “That’s my homework for you lawyers.”

There were no arguments Wednesday on the legality of the “butterfly” ballot. LeBarga said he wanted to clarify the new election question before delving into the ballot controversy.

Elsewhere in the county, the three-member Palm Beach County canvassing board sent a letter to Harris explaining why the county’s votes should be recounted. The canvassing board noted that a hand count Saturday of 4,695 ballots, or 1% of those cast, showed a net gain of 19 for Gore.

“Clearly, the results of the manual recount could affect the outcome of this very close presidential election if the manual recount in the other precincts also vary in this degree from the machine recounts,” wrote Charles Burton, the board chairman.

Before the vote, Republicans tried to oust Democrat Carol Roberts from the panel. In a formal complaint, GOP officials accused Roberts of engaging “in numerous actions that were inconsistent with fundamental concepts of fairness, due process and integrity” during Saturday’s partial hand count.

Responding in a written statement, Roberts said all decisions and the handling of ballots “were made in the full view of the public observers for both parties [and] cameras from all over the world.”

The matter never came to a vote. County Atty. Denise Dytrych said the canvassing board had no power to oust Roberts because the composition of the board was set by statute.

Public Relations Fight Continues

Meantime, the two campaigns’ public relations fight surrounding the inconclusive election continued unabated.

“Our message is that we’re working toward the most rapid resolution that we can,” Warren Christopher, Gore’s Florida emissary, told reporters in Tallahassee. “We understand the frustrations of everyone to reach a result on these matters. On the other hand, I think that the American people want to see us do this in a fair, consistent, rapid way.”

His counterpart in the Bush camp, James A. Baker III, accused the Gore campaign of stringing the election out through endless litigation. “The delay has been on the part of these counties that vote one day one way and then change their minds the next day, and then the Gore camp threatens to sue them or does sue them, and then they go back and change their mind,” Baker said.

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Times staff writers Mike Clary, Jeffrey Gettleman, Scott Gold and Meg James contributed to this story.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

RECOUNT ROUNDUP

A Day of Legal Warfare

9 a.m. EST

RECOUNTS

Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris asks the Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee (A) to order a halt to manual recounts. She petitions the high court to consolidate all election-related lawsuits in a Tallahassee state court. Attorneys for Al Gore ask the Supreme Court to take jurisdiction over all such suits.

11:30 a.m. EST

BROWARD COUNTY

Election officials grant a Gore campaign request for a countywide recount by hand (B).

PALM BEACH COUNTY

Circuit Judge Jorge Labarga declares recounting may resume (C). On Friday, he will hear arguments on whether Florida’s Constitution allows for a second presidential election if the first one is botched.

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1:50 p.m. EST

FEDERAL COURT

A 12-member federal appeals court in Atlanta agrees to consider arguments on George W. Bush’s attempt to stop the manual recounts.

*

2 p.m. EST

COUNTIES SEEK TIME

Four counties--Palm Beach (C), Miami-Dade (D), Broward (B) and Collier (E)--ask the Florida secretary of state for additional time to count ballots.

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4:50 p.m. EST

HIGH COURT RULES

Florida Supreme Court says county-level recounts can continue.

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6:40 p.m. EST

GORE PROPOSAL

He offers to abide by results if recounts in disputed counties continue. He also supports statewide recount, if Bush agrees.

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9:13 p.m. EST

HAND COUNTS

Harris says state will not accept results of manual recounts.

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10:15 p.m. EST

BUSH RESPONSE

He rejects Gore proposal, saying recounts must stop.

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Updates on Other Close States

Here are the latest, unofficial returns in the presidential race.

IOWA: 7 electoral votes, 100%

GORE: 635,026

BUSH: 630,077

GORE WINS by 4,949

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NEW MEXICO: 5 electoral votes, 100%

GORE: 286,390

BUSH: 286,015

GORE LEADS by 375

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OREGON: 7 electoral votes, 100%

GORE: 706,193

BUSH: 701,437

GORE WINS by 4,756

Sources: Staff and wire reportsUpcoming Events

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FRIDAY

Absentee ballots from overseas must be received by midnight.

SATURDAY

Overseas ballots to be counted and certified.

TUESDAY, Dec. 12

Deadline for Florida to certify its 25 electors.

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Who leads in Florida

Day-by-day lead according to daily, unofficial returns.

Nov. 8: Bush leads by 1,489

Nov. 14: Bush leads by 300

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U.S. Popular Vote

Wednesday’s nationwide election returns, with 99% of the nation’s precincts reporting.

GORE: 49,396,044

BUSH: 49,165,595

GORE LEADS by 230,449

OTHER CANDIDATES: 3,762,170

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U.S. Electoral Vote

Without Florida’s 25 electoral votes, neither candidate has the 270 needed to win the presidency.

NOTE: New Mexico, with five electoral votes, is still uncertain.