Another interesting point (which is apparently Anstead's only personal obstacle to handing Gore the election):
Anstead: With the chief's indulgence, one last question. And it really ties in to something actually that you brought before the court in the first oral argument that we had here, and that is, of this problem that continues to reoccur in the case of not having recounts in other counties where the same voting mechanisms were used and where there may have been undervotes, but that the proportion of votes, for instance, may have favored your opponent. And that we're now here on December the 7, with December the 12, you know, fast approaching. At the last proceeding neither side took us up on, whether it was an offer or not, at least it was a concern of the court in terms of the appearance of fairness or equity, how can we resolve an issue like that at this late date?
Boies: Two points, Your Honor: First, there's never been a rule that says you have to recount all the ballots in an election contest. In fact, every case that we've cited has been a case, including the Beckstrom case, where only the contested ballots were reviewed. To make a different rule would be a change in the law.
The second point is that every party has a right to contest, but no party is required to contest. What the sense seems to be is that somehow Governor Bush's campaign should be protected from Governor Bush's lawyers. If they didn't ask for a recount, and, therefore, there should be recount anyway, even if they didn't ask for it. |
