Earlier in the day, Florida's Secretary of State, Katherine Harris (see Secretary of State on a Hotseat), refused a request by the Palm Beach canvassing team for a few additional hours to complete their hand recounts. Harris opted not to exercise her discretion in the matter. As a result, Florida did not include any of the county's hand recount information in their final results. Miami-Dade County had stopped recounts earlier in the week. Officials found the machine counting process ignored over 10,000 ballots. They cancelled the manual review due to time limitations. For many Americans, this manifests a Loss of Legitimacy in the election process.

These extraordiany events led Vice President Gore's team to announce they would contest Florida's election results in three counties (see Illustration B at right). This is the first contest of a presidential election in 125 years. This puts the country in an unprecedented crisis. As president-elect, a candidate traditionally assembles a "transition team." The team is headquartered in designated transitional offices in Washington, D.C. Due to the official contest of the Florida results, is George W. Bush jumping the gun?

On Friday, December 8th, Florida's Supreme Court ruled in favor of Al Gore. In a 4-3 decision, Florida's highest court said, "Count all the votes." Download a PDF copy of the Florida Court's decision (190k).

The Bush camp has stated consistently the "Rule of Law" must prevail. Florida law allows for a contest of an election in two instances: (1) if legal votes are not counted; or (2) if illegal votes are counted. As Secretary of State Harris did not allow the Palm Beach County hand count results to be included; as Miami-Dade County did not continue their manual hand count due to time limitations, Gore has a legitimate argument.

More importantly, federal law prevents the Bush transition team from moving into the transitional offices as long as the election is under contest. In addition, federal law prohibits the General Services Administration (GSA) from funding transitional preparations until the dispute is resolved. The Bush camp announced Monday, Nov. 27th, they would seek private funding to support their preparatory efforts. President Clinton raised about $5 million to assist his transition in 1992.

Bush named his vice presidential candidate, Dick Cheney, to head the Bush transition team. Cheney addressed the nation on Monday (see Illustration C at right) and stated a delay could jeopardize the transition. His position is that "we will pay a heavy price" during the next administration.

We leave readers with this thought: Is George W. Bush a puppet of the Republican old guard? Bush selected Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary in his father's administration. During the campaign, Bush indicated he would appoint many of his father's team to key positions. Republicans are desperate to regain the White House. They have hated Clinton for years. Now, they disrespect the right to have votes counted; disrespect Florida law; disrespect the judicial system; and seek private funding to establish their foundation of government. Bush told America he is a "leader" who would bring the nation together. Are these the actions of a leader working to reunite the nation?

Actual Palm Beach Florida Ballot

Proposed Florida Ballot

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