The Right to Be Heard

In another breathless turn of electoral events, a unanimous Florida Supreme Court wisely held Tuesday that it is the rights of voters, not the political fortunes of George W. Bush or Al Gore, that must be held paramount. Facing conflicts in Florida law, the court underscored that no rules, no regulations may interfere with the preeminent right to cast a vote and have a reasonable expectation that the vote will count.

“The right to vote is the right to participate; it is also the right to speak, but more importantly the right to be heard.”

Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris’ rigid views about the inflexibility of deadlines and her fixation on the method of counting votes was wrong, not only in the law but in common sense. Process must not trump substance.

But the decision did not leave the process open-ended. The court set forth a time limit; hand counts can continue only through Sunday. The court offered no wisdom in how to determine which of the disputed ballots--the so-called dimpled and hanging-chad ballots--should be read. There should be one standard for how the ballots are counted in Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties. A hanging chad that is valid in one county should be valid in the others.

Bush advisor James A. Baker III, in an angry repudiation of the ruling, made this point strongly, and we agree there should be steady, unchanging rules for such counts. Baker, however, also called the court’s decision overreaching and seemed to invite the Florida Legislature, controlled by Republicans, to counter the court. Therein lies great danger.

What the Florida court did do was take a very muddled election law and sort through it in methodical fashion, taking the intent of legislators into account and giving greater weight to the most recent statutes. The result is a unanimous acceptance of the law’s later, more permissive language on accepting late returns. “To allow the Secretary [of State] to summarily disenfranchise innocent voters . . . misses the constitutional mark,” the justices conclude.

It is hard to argue with such voter-centric language, though there are many bedeviling details unresolved, many lawsuits still pending. The decision, in its straightforwardness, will be the capstone to all that Americans have learned about Florida in recent weeks, including that state’s habit of conducting the people’s business, no matter how messy, out where the people can see it.

Ballot recounts are taking place before spectators and under the gaze of television cameras, and while that hasn’t prevented some from alleging vote fraud it has left anyone watching with a neutral eye convinced that conscientious counters are doing their best to get things right. Florida also allows cameras into its courtrooms (in California courts, it is up to individual judges). Monday’s hearing leading to the court’s decision was a solid primer on why it’s vital for the public to be able to see and hear such momentous court proceedings.

What the cameras have shown of the candidates and their campaigns has been less edifying. After this one grand decision, it is certainly possible for both sides to keep their lawyers busy filing detailed appeals. They should refrain.

Gore, obviously pleased by the Supreme Court decision, made a notably conciliatory statement, calling again for a meeting with Bush and for a mutual declaration “that our country is more important than victory.” He also asked supporters on both sides to tone down their language.

Good advice. But will either side adhere to it. There can come a time when the words are too harsh to be healed, and the Gore and Bush camps have come very close to that edge. The American people, more patient than their politicians, deserve better.