Fla. Supreme Court also weighs dimple
Monday, 20 November 2000 17:39 (ET)
Fla. Supreme Court also weighs dimple
By MARK BENJAMIN
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Nov. 20 (UPI) - Lawyers for Vice President Al Gore
and Texas Gov. George W. Bush appealed to the Florida Supreme Court Monday
to decide what to do with hundreds of "dimpled" ballots that could
potentially have an impact on the outcome of the presidential election.
If the court orders Florida counties to count those ballots, it could mean
hundreds of additional votes for Gore who lags behind Bush by less than a
thousand votes.
Bush attorneys told the court Monday that counting the ballots now would
constitute changing the rules of the election. Gore attorneys said a ballot
with a dimple shows voter "intent" and should be counted.
"It is quite important that this court be as specific as possible as to
the standard [for counting ballots by hand] as possible so that we have some
uniformity," Gore attorney David Boies told the court Monday.
But Bush attorney Michael Carvin said judging dimpled ballots is a
"standardless and subjective inquiry" that could "impart partisanship" into
the vote-counting process. "I would urge the court that to count [those
ballots] after the election had been held would change the rules."
In the hand count process in Florida, counters decide the fate of a
ballot. But either party can appeal a decision by a team of counters. Those
ballots go before a three-member canvassing commission. The commission then
makes a decision on those ballots, but the two parties could challenge that
decision and the commission could overrule any complaints.
Boards in Palm Beach and nearby Broward County have placed those
challenged ballots aside, waiting for direction from the Florida Supreme
Court on how to proceed. In just a partial hand recount in Palm Beach County
alone, some 349 votes so far could go to one candidate or another depending
on direction from the court.
All of the 349 ballots challenged by either party have a dimple in the
column of one candidate or another, but the "chad" in the ballot is still in
place.
In Palm Beach county alone Gore supporters said 276 of those dimpled
ballots could go to Gore while 73 could go to Bush. The 349 ballots
represent only 297 out of 531 precincts and could rise significantly by the
time the counting is over.
Bill Buck, the state Democratic communications director, said those
ballots contain a clear indentation where the voter tried to punch out a
chad, but for whatever reason, the chad was not dislodged. But the indent
clearly shows voter intent.
Bush campaign officials in West Palm Beach said Gore is simply turning to
those votes as a "reserve fund" because Gore still lacks the votes to win.
The judges on the Supreme Court showed similar uncertainty.
"The person punched the hole but for whatever reason the chad did not fall
out. What should we do with those ballots?" Justice Peggy Quince asked
Carvin.
The Bush team said they shouldn't count. But the Gore team said a dimple
is a vote.
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Copyright 2000 by United Press International.
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