It would have been in the interest of the Bush campaign to petition for a manual recount in all counties, particularly after it was clear that the Board of Elections in counties such as Palm Beach, Broward, Dade, and Volusia had decided on a recount.
I am certainly glad the Republicans finally see the value in affirmative action, as they are clearly the minority in Florida and most of the U.S. and need all the help they can get, from the Florida Secretary of State and any others. I guess in the interest of affirmative action we should not have any right to count any ballots that the machines have failed to accept, but which, on direct examination might reveal the intent of the voter.
The Florida Supreme Court addressed this very issue of a manual recount, and particularly, what would be a timely recount in order to meet the Federal deadline of December 12 and still allow for challenges to be heard before that date. Many of the Supreme Court justices jumped all over the Bush lawyer, Carvin (I believe that was his name) on this issue.
If I had to predict the outcome of the Supreme Court hearing, it would be in favor of a recount continuing and being reported to the Secretary of State BEFORE she certifies. That said, I think it is unlikely that enough votes will change the outcome in favor of Gore. The outcome would have been clearly in favor of Gore if some voters had not inadvertantly cast their votes for Buchanan, thinking that they really were voting for Gore. That is why I maintain that, at least among those who voted on November 7, the majority voted for Gore.
You can twist the election law to favor Bush all you want, but you cannot deny that if he wins it will be only because a significant number of votes intended for Gore were thrown out. |
