Florida has been scrutinized for the past two weeks not only by Americans, but by the overseas media, who look on more in dismay than derision and wait for it all to end. However, in spite of the ratings and advertising boon this has been for the all-news networks, it’s plain that no one besides a happy cable executive reading those numbers is really enjoying this roller coaster ride enough to want it to go on and on.

If anyone thought this would be a short, quiet Thanksgiving week on the decision 2000 front, they were snapped to their senses Tuesday night with the ruling announced by the Florida State Supreme Court amid tightened security. The court ruled that in the interest of the voters, hand counting of the Florida ballots must continue and the counting must be completed by 5pm Sunday, November 26.

A smiling David Boies, attorney for Gore-Lieberman, appeared before the cameras shortly after the announcement to praise the justices’ commitment to the voters. Well, at least their commitment to voter intent, anyway. And, if not to the voters of the whole state of Florida, at least to those in the most heavily Democratic precincts.

This had not been a David vs. Goliath endeavor for the man who brought Microsoft to its knees. While there is no doubt that he’s wise enough never to take any venue for granted, this case would have been a likely shoo-in for any lesser lawyer, in light of the fact that the seven justices of Florida’s highest court were nominated by Democrat governors. Their unanimous decision to stay Secretary of State Katherine Harris’s certification of the election until the extended deadline may have stopped presses and pre-empted regular TV news programming, but it came as no great surprise to those who followed this closely.

Certainly it came as no surprise to Michael Carvin and Barry Richards, the lawyers who represented Governor Bush in Monday’s hearing. They seemed, at times during the proceedings, to be arguing right over the heads of the vaunted Florida justices in anticipation of appeals to the Federal courts.

It was apparent that Carvin’s plea to the justices to not, after the election has been held, change the rules by which the election would be conducted, had fallen on deaf ears. He argued to lift the stay that pre-empted Secretary of State Harris from certifying the election, as specifically mandated in the Florida state legislation.

"That's why we have deadlines and that’s why we have uniform rules because we want election contests to be decided, not in this fevered, partisan environment where everyone knows that the way they proceed in counting ballots or whether they use a two corner rule versus a dimpled ballot, it may well affect the outcome of the election. Because that introduces subjectivity and partisanship into it. And that is why it is very important that we follow the rules that are set forth in the statutes that were written by the legislature long ago," he told the court.

One justice seemed to emphasize Democratic talking points when she pressed Carvin on Texas law permitting hand counting. "Isn’t that what Governor Bush approved of when he signed the legislation?" Justice Barbara Pariente asked.

In a move of blatant judicial audacity, another justice indicated that she regarded the legislation as a guideline more than a concrete rule. For example, regarding the rules for the use of discretion by the Secretary of State in abiding by the mandated seven day deadline for certification, Justice Polly Quince asked, "And what are the guidelines for the exercise of what you see as that discretion?"

Barry Richards passionately replied, "The legislature has established no guidelines. The guidelines that this court has established as long as institutional memory exists, is whether or not the exercise by that state agent is clearly erroneous and I suggest to this court that the appellants have given this court no basis in this case for finding that the Secretary of State’s decision was clearly erroneous.

"That's the issue! And whether or not history ultimately looks kindly upon what we do here, I believe, will depend upon whether we have abandoned those principles of law and statutory construction and separation of powers that we have adhered to for so long."

The Justices didn’t see it that way. Tuesday night’s ruling was chalked up as the most significant victory for Al Gore. Like clockwork Gore appeared Tuesday evening in a well-rehearsed broadcast decked out in make-up and a red power tie and appealed to George Bush to accept the outcome of the state Supreme Court’s ruling.

Bush’s 930 vote lead would be vulnerable to the impending inclusion of so-called "undervoted" ballots, with which county canvassers will be expected to divine voter intent by reading bumps and the slightest indentations on the cards. Ballot phrenology, it could be called.

By Wednesday morning all hell seemed to be breaking loose for the Bush camp. Dick Cheney had been hospitalized at George Washington University with chest pains in the early morning hours. The Miami-Dade Canvassing Board would propose counting only the undervoted ballots, leaving the properly punched ballots out of the hand count total. This could have been disastrous for George Bush. Miami-Dade with only 135 of 614 of precincts completed had already found a net gain of 157 votes for Al Gore, since it began the hand count on Monday.

Ironically, it would be the direction written the night before by the Florida Supreme Court that would save the Bush lead from what was projected as substantial erosion from the Miami-Dade hand count.

In a surprise move and acting under legal advisement, Miami-Dade announced that it would end the recounting process altogether and submit the machine results from their November 8^th recount as their final tally. They’re hands were tied, according to the canvassing board, because the wording in the state Supreme Court ruling stated they must recount 100% of the precincts by the Sunday deadline in order for the recount to be valid.

The Board said that it wouldn’t be possible to count all the votes by the Sunday deadline so they abruptly ended the process on Wednesday afternoon. Miami-Dade, a shining hope for Al Gore votes, threw in the towel, excusing itself from the Great Florida Vote Hunt. Attorneys for Gore-Lieberman filed an emergency petition with the state Supreme Court to force Miami-Dade to keep counting. The court denied it without prejudice making no further comment on the decision.

Also on Wednesday George Bush appeared (sans power tie) at midday in an Austin press conference expressing his disappointment in the Florida Supreme Court’s ruling. He said they had overstepped their authority by effectively changing the Florida statute instead of merely interpreting it. He also took the opportunity to ensure the public that Dick Cheney’s condition was not serious, even though he remained in the hospital. Cheney’s doctors have since announced that he had a "slight heart attack."

Bush is appealing the Florida Supreme Court ruling to the United States Supreme Court. Governor Bush is also suing in a Florida court to have some of the disqualified military absentee ballots reinstated and counted.

Also on Wednesday, the Bush-Cheney campaign lost their attempt to exclude the notorious "dimpled chads" from the ballot count in Palm Beach County. These unpenetrated anemic voting curiosities are believed to be a potential for more Al Gore vote gains.

It’s been a circus. On the ground the media in Florida say things are heating up. Democrats admonish their opponents to remain calm and accepting of the legal processes which are going on in the state. "Tone down the rhetoric," has become the buzz phrase du jour. Democrats keep repeating it like a mantra.

Crowds supporting Bush remain upbeat, but determined, and continue to show up on the front lines day and night, carrying signs such as the now familiar "Sore Loserman" take-off on the "Gore-Lieberman" placard. One Miami demonstrator carried a handmade sign that modestly proclaimed, "I see dead people… AND THEY’RE VOTING FOR GORE-LIEBERMAN!" proving that through it all Floridians have lost neither their flair, nor their (sixth?) sense of humor.

But Floridians are getting at least as good as they give. They’ve become the butt of stupid jokes. "How many Palm Beach voters does it take to change a light bulb? None, they can’t find the socket."

Will Florida live down The Great Vote Hunt? Do they deserve the disdain or raised eyebrows of voters in other states from New York to California? Well, folks, outside of a few demonstrators who showed up outside the Palm Beach County Courthouse at the behest of Democrat telemarketers protesting the infamous butterfly ballot, I can think of no reason why the voters of Florida should be ashamed. They’ve hung in there. When reporters and other talking heads indulged in hand-wringing regarding their fears of ugliness and tension in the streets, the demonstrators remain, under the circumstances, models of restraint and even civility, for the most part. They didn’t crumble on election night when most of the major networks announced that the state had gone to Gore and they aren’t caving now.


© Lynette Warren 2000 All rights reserved