Developments in the Florida presidential election recount:
COUNTING:
–Statewide: Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris certified the state’s election results Sunday, declaring Republican George W. Bush the winner of Florida’s 25 electoral votes. She accepted new vote totals from 16 counties and rejected Palm Beach County’s partial results. Bush leads Democrat Al Gore by 537 votes in the totals Harris certified.
The Texas governor said the Florida certification ‘gives us the needed electoral votes to win the election’ and the White House.
–Palm Beach County: As many as 1,000 ballots did not get reviewed before a deadline arrived and county officials turned in recount results showing Gore with a net gain of 180 votes. The county finished its count anyway and said final results would be released Monday.
–Bay County: Bush gained two votes on Gore.
–Brevard County: Bush gained eight votes.
–Broward County: Gore gained 567 votes. GOP complained canvassers counted votes for Gore on ballots with no clear selection for president.
–Citrus County: Bush gained one vote.
–Clay County: Bush gained 12 votes from previously rejected overseas absentee ballots.
–Collier County: Bush gained 15 votes.
–Duval County: Bush gained 20 votes from overseas absentee ballots.
–Escambia County: Bush picked up 36 votes from previously rejected overseas absentee ballots.
–Leon County: Canvassing board voted not to accept any more overseas ballots after reconsidering nearly 20 with various flaws.
–Manatee County: Bush picked up four votes from previously rejected overseas absentee ballots.
–Miami-Dade County: Gore picked up six votes from a sample recount.
–Nassau County: Bush picked up 52 votes when election officials decided to use Election Day vote totals instead of a machine recount.
–Okaloosa County: Bush picked up one vote.
–Pasco County: Bush picked up six votes from previously rejected overseas absentee ballots.
–Pinellas County: Bush gained one vote.
–Polk: Bush picked up one vote.
–Santa Rosa: Bush picked up 21 votes.
COURTS:
–Gore expected to go to state courts Monday to contest some county results, including those in Palm Beach, Nassau and Miami-Dade counties.
–Bush’s lawyers expected to go to Seminole County court Monday to seek dismissal of Democratic lawsuit alleging GOP illegally tampered with 4,700 absentee ballot applications.
–The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a Bush appeal seeking to bar hand-counted ballots on Friday. Bush wants the court to overturn the Florida Supreme Court’s decision to allow the hand recounts to continue.
