Florida Supreme Court Expands Its Role

The case was brought about to determine a course of action given two seemingly contradictory Florida laws. The first of these dictates that individual county canvassing boards be allotted adequate time to conduct manual recounts, while the other mandates that votes must be certified within one week of the election. The Florida Supreme Court's decision, which added a third ring to the circus that is the state's election process, also dealt a blow to Texas Governor George W. Bush, whose lead is slowly eroding as democratic-controlled canvassing boards in three Florida counties recount ballots without the assistance of clear guidelines.

One of the issues during these recounts, which have grown so numerous that it may be necessary to recount the recounts when all is said and done, is the treatment of ballots that include "dimpled chads." These "chads," the small pieces of paper that cover the holes in the ballots and that hang by perforated edges, must supposedly be punched out in order to register a vote. Vote-counters apparently wish to also count those ballots that do not have the chads punched out, a move that, at the very least, is wrought with presumptions and subjectivity. No word has yet come about the possibility of bringing in clairvoyants to determine the intent of voters whose intellect was stymied by the ballots.

After the decision was announced, the Bush team noted that the job of the state Supreme Court is to judiciously decide matters of confusion regarding legislation, not to make new legislation, and firmly believes that the seven justices of the court have used their power to influence the election. Six of the seven justices were appointed by democratic administrations, while the seventh was a joint selection.

In related news, nearly 1,500 overseas ballots have been rejected by vote-counters in democratic counties. Prior to receiving such ballots, an attorney employed by the Democratic Party issued a five-page memo noting the various "legal" reasons that overseas ballots could be rejected. Gore's vote-counting troops rallied around their persistent leader and disqualified the 1,500 ballots because they did not include postmarks. The ballots were apparently collected without postmarks and sent in bulk to Florida from the military, with the only postmark being on the package that contained the otherwise "legal" ballots.

The very latest news surrounding the recount issue is an announcement by the Miami-Dade county canvassing board that they will not continue recounts before the Sunday deadline, a development that favors the Bush camp. Lawrence King, chairman of the county canvassing board, noted, "I do not believe we have the ability to conduct a full, accurate recount" before the Sunday deadline.