Judge sets Saturday hearing date for Dade, Palm Beach recounts

Tuesday, November 28th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Tallahassee, Florida (CNN) -- A state judge Tuesday evening denied an emergency request from the campaign of Democrat Al Gore to immediately count roughly 10,000 ballots in Miami-Dade County and another 3,300 in Palm Beach County.

But Leon County Circuit Judge N. Sanders Sauls scheduled a hearing for Saturday at 9 a.m. to further consider Gore's challenge to the presidential results in those counties, as well as Nassau County.

In a pre-trial hearing on Thursday, the court will hear limited matters of law including how to count the ballots -- in case it is decided to count them -- and whether the contest of an election must include looking at all the ballots in a county or all the ballots in the state.

The judge asked Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties to send the ballots in question and a typical voting machine to the court by Friday at noon. Attorneys for those counties said the supervisors of elections would send along the ballots and the machine in a local police car.

Earlier Tuesday, Gore had made his second appeal to the public in less than 24 hours, saying that he only wanted a "full and accurate count" of votes and that a "cloud" would hang over the next president unless that goal was met.

He suggested that Republican rival George W. Bush wanted to block a full counting of votes.
"I believe this is a time to count every vote and not to run out the clock," Gore told reporters outside the vice president's residence. "This is not a time for delay, obstruction and procedural roadblocks."

Gore also sought to explain why he sought recounts only in a few counties. He said those counties where the disputed ballots were cast were more likely to have "old and cheap, outdated machinery" at the polling places.

But attorneys for Bush rejected as "myths" the arguments being used by Gore in his bid to undo Florida's election certification, which gave Bush a 537-vote margin of victory.

Latest developments

â€¢ Bush campaign spokeswoman Karen Hughes was asked Tuesday that if Bush believed he has won the presidential election, why has he instructed his staff to continue to address him as governor? "We are now in uncharted waters," said Hughes. "We're in an unprecedented period where a presidential candidate is going to court essentially to try to contest and overturn the results of an election that has now been certified."

Meanwhile, the vice president dismissed the significance of polls that show support wavering for his challenge to the election results.

â€¢ Gore dismissed the significance of polls that show support wavering for his challenge to the election results.
"I'm quite sure that the polls don't matter in this because it's a legal question," Gore said, adding that polls prior to the election did not forecast his win in the national popular vote.

â€¢ Gore said it was proper for both him and Bush to "proceed with transition planning and activities" but said it would be inappropriate to name any prospective members of an administration. The Bush camp has already started floating names of possible Cabinet members.

â€¢ New Mexico elections officials Tuesday issued a conditional certification of Gore as winner in that state's presidential contest, pending a final review of disputed ballots in one county.
The state canvassing board said Gore's 483-vote margin would not be certified until Thursday after a judge in Roosevelt County can review the status of 570 disputed ballots that were not counted for either candidate. Republicans said the 10 percent undervote in Roosevelt County was "significantly higher" than in other New Mexico counties and asked for another check.
The winner in New Mexico is awarded five electoral votes. Candidates have until Dec. 6 to ask for a recount and until Jan. 8 to contest the results. The Bush campaign has not indicated it will not contest the election.

â€¢ Oregon election officials Tuesday declared Gore the winner of the state's seven electoral votes, releasing final certified results that showed the vice president defeating Bush by a 6,765-vote margin.

â€¢ The Florida Supreme Court set a deadline of 4 p.m. Wednesday for parties to submit briefs in a second case questioning the the legality of Palm Beach County's so-called butteryfly ballot.
Spokesman Craig Waters said the court has not decided whether it will hear the case from voters Julius and Lilian Katz -- nor another one, from voter Andre Fladell. Briefs were filed in the Fladell case Tuesday.

Thousands of voters complained the ballot was so confusing that they mistakenly cast votes for Pat Buchanan instead of Gore. They are seeking a new election in the county, something Republicans say is illegal.

â€¢ Lawyers for the Bush campaign on Tuesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to bring "legal finality" to the election by overturning the Florida Supreme Court and ending any further recounts.

Minutes earlier, attorneys for the Gore campaign asked in briefs for the court to affirm the Florida Supreme Court's ruling that allowed recounts. Gore attorney Laurence Tribe told reporters there was no legal basis for the U.S. Supreme Court to interfere in what the state high court ruled.

Both sides are to present oral arguments on Friday.

â€¢ Because of the interest in the case, the Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it is taking the unusual step of providing an audio tape of Friday's arguments within hours of the proceedings.
The Supreme Court said it would provide the tape of the arguments on an "expedited basis" and promised it would be made available "as soon as possible" following the conclusion of the courtroom arguments.

Court officials had no information at what hour the audio feed would be available. The arguments will begin at 10 a.m. and conclude at 11:30 a.m.