To: Srexley who wrote (105657 ) 12/8/2000 2:52:08 PM From: margie Read Replies (1) | Respond to The Florida Supreme court will say: "This Court Cannot Grant the Relief Requested" (imo)"Simply put, then, this is an action by the wrong parties, seeking relief under the wrong statute, brought against the wrong defendants. And for this Court, or any Florida Court, to now extend Florida statutes to reach it, would run afoul of Article II of the U.S. Constitution, McPhereson v. Blacker, and 3 U.S.C. § 5. POINTS OF CLARIFICATION: submitted by Bush's lawyers to the Florida Supreme Court this morning. "Under McPherson v. Blacker, 146 U.S. 1 (1892), the Supreme Court made explicit that Article II authorizes the states to appoint electors only in “such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct” and thus the federal Constitution “operat[es] as a limitation upon the State in respect of any attempt to circumscribe the legislative power” of the State. U.S. Slip Op. at 5 (quoting McPherson, 146 U.S. at 25). "In particular, as the Supreme Court also made clear in McPherson,“[t]his power is conferred upon the legislatures of the States by the Constitution of the United States, and cannot be taken from them or modified by their State constitutions . . . .” 146 U.S. at 34 (quoting Senate Rep. 1st Sess., 432 Cong. No. 395). "Appellants (Gore et al) ask this Court to: 1) completely substitute itself for both the county canvassing boards and the state canvassing commission; 2) engage in a selective recount of certain ballots in a few Florida counties; 3) adopt an unprecedented “standard” for divining voter intent; and 4) declare the results of a statewide election of federal electors based upon this selective recount. This Court does not have authority to grant such relief under Florida law or federal law." Moreover, doing so would clearly constitute a change in the manner in which Florida selected its electors, thus violating both the Federal Constitution and federal statute. This “judicially selected” slate of Presidential electors would not be validly chosen and, unlike the presently certified slate of electors, their votes would not be “conclusive” under 3 U.S.C. § 5 and the judicial mandate would be contrary to McPherson v. Blacker........ "Additionally, for the first time in their brief to this Court, Appellants make the remarkable assertion that this Court should exercise original jurisdiction in this matter. They then ask the Court to engage in its own selective recount of certain ballots, declare a winner to the statewide Presidential election on this basis, nullify a previously certified result and actually direct the Secretary of State to “‘certify as elected the presidential electors of’ Al Gore and Joe Lieberman, under Section 113.011.” Such a course of conduct would clearly violate the United States Constitution and federal statutes,3 and, just as clearly, it is not authorized by Florida law."
