Wednesday 6 December 2000 - The Florida Legislature will hold a special session this Friday 8 December to consider appointing Florida's 25 Presidential Electors.
Wednesday 6 December 2000 - The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected a request from the Bush campaign to throw out Florida Presidential election results that include hand recounts from selected counties. The inclusion of hand recounts reduced Bush's lead in Florida from 930 to 537 votes. Text of the Ruling
Wednesday 6 December 2000: A trial begins in Leon County Circuit Court (Judge Nikki Clark) where a Democratic voter in Seminole County seeks to invalidate nearly 4,700 (out of nearly 15,000) absentee ballots cast in that county. This suit claims that Republican activists were allowed- by a county election official- to fill out required information on ballots from registered Republicans which had been mailed in without that missing information. On Monday 27 November, the Seminole County Circuit Court conducted a preliminary hearing regarding this lawsuit, after which it was moved to Leon County Circuit Court as a "contest" under 102.168. The Gore camp has distanced itself from this particular case (as it, too, has asked that all votes- including any possibly disputed absentee ballots, such as those in Seminole County- be counted in Florida. (Judge Terry Lewis's court in Martin County will be hearing a similar case on Wednesday.)
Monday 4 December 2000 - The U.S. Supreme Court has vacated the Florida Supreme Court ruling which extended the Florida vote certification deadline. The court has remanded the case back to the Florida Supreme Court, that is, the Florida Supreme Court must reconsider its previous decision. Text of Supreme Court Ruling Text of Friday 1 December 2000 Arguments
On 24 November the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear the Bush campaign's appeal of the Florida Supreme Court's ruling of 21 November. The appeal is based on the Bush camp's contention that the Florida Supreme Court ruling [dated 21 November] violates 3 U.S.C. 5 which requires that any controversy on the state level prior to the date Electors must be certified [12 December this year] must be settled "by laws enacted prior to the day fixed for the appointment of the electors" [i.e., 7 November]; the Gore counterargument- besides one arguing that this issue should be determined solely by the Florida courts [as the 21 November ruling solely involves Florida state election law]- would be that 3 U.S.C. 5 also states- immediately after that statute requires the controversy to be determined at the state level "at least six days before the time fixed for the meeting of the electors" [12 December this year]- that "such determination" be "made pursuant to such law so existing on said day" [12 December, not the law as it was on 7 November as the Bush camp alleges]. Supreme Court Justices
Tuesday 5 December 2000 - The Florida Supreme Court has established a deadline of Wednesday 6 December 2000 Noon EST (1700 UTC) for the Gore and Bush campaigns to provide briefs regarding Gore's appeal of the decision made by Leon County Circuit Court Judge N. Sanders Sauls to NOT order a hand recount in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. Oral arguments are set for Thursday 7 December 2000 10 AM EST (1500 UTC).
Monday 4 December 2000 - Leon County Circuit Court Judge N. Sanders Sauls has ruled NOT to order a hand recount in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. The suit was filed by the Gore campaign in an attempt to contest the Florida certified results. Text of Ruling
PRESIDENT
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Sunday 26 November 2000 7:35 PM EST (0035 UTC 27 November): Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris- with the approval of the State Election Canvassing Board- has certified the vote for President in FLORIDA as follows:
Bush: 2,912,790
Gore: 2,912,253
Bush wins Florida by 537 votes
George W. Bush, thus, wins all 25 of Florida's Electoral Votes and the Presidency
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Commentary
Monday, November 27, 2000
QUIT WHILE YOU'RE BEHIND!
It is now time for Al Gore to bow out gracefully
Friday, November 24, 2000
IN DEFENSE OF THE COURTS
The innate propriety of the Florida Supreme Court ruling of 21 November 2000
Wednesday, November 22, 2000
A POX ON BOTH YOUR HOUSES!!!
The Election 2000 battle in Florida escalates
States with close races (all figures below are unofficial and/or
incomplete):
- FLORIDA (25 electoral votes):
Recounts: Bush has been formally certified the winner as of 7:35 P.M. EST, 26 November (0035 UTC, 27 November) by 537 votes (see above).
- NEW MEXICO (5 electoral votes) Gore certified winner by 0.07%: Certified results show Gore leads by 483 votes out of some 571,000 cast. Amended returns from Roosevelt County, filed after certification, would decrease Gore's lead to 368 votes. Candidates have until Friday 8 December to ask for a recount.
- OREGON (7 electoral votes) Gore certified winner by 0.3%.
Popular vote [includes Florida certification of 26 November]:
(national margin 348,245 for Gore)
Gore: 50,141,451
Bush: 49,793,206
Close HOUSE Race
- Minnesota CD 2 - Friday 17 November
- Republican Mark Kennedy leads Democratic Congressman David Minge by
155 votes. Reports state Minge will seek a recount.
FLORIDA
Constitutional provisions for the election of the President and Vice-President
Federal Law governing the election of a President and Vice-President
Florida General Election Statutes
Additional Notes...
LAME DUCK 106th CONGRESS
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