Palm Beach County Election Officials Move Forward with Manual Recount Despite Legal Challenges

Strategic Insights -

Palm Beach election officials voted to go ahead with a second countywide manual recount of 462,657 ballots, a process that Democrats believe could give them a better chance of putting Al Gore in the White House. The decision was made after a day of conflicting legal maneuvers and advice from local lawyers and the state's attorney general, Robert A. Butterworth. The canvassing board's move was in response to the Florida Supreme Court's ruling, which allowed them to conduct the manual recount and submit the results to the secretary of state, Katherine Harris.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Palm Beach County canvassing board voted to conduct a manual recount of all 462,657 ballots, a process that could determine the fate of Al Gore's presidential campaign.
  • The board's decision was made after a day of conflicting legal advice and maneuvers, including a ruling from the Florida Supreme Court that allowed the manual recount to proceed.
  • The manual recount is expected to focus on 10,361 "undervotes," ballots on which the counting machines indicated no choice for the presidential race.
  • Democrats believe that the manual recount could give them an edge in Palm Beach County, which has a large Democratic base of blacks and Jewish retirees.
  • The Bush campaign has raised concerns about the reliability of the manual recount, warning that human error could lead to inaccurate results.
  • The canvassing board's decision was met with enthusiasm from Democrats and criticism from the Bush campaign, with supporters chanting "Count my vote" and "Why don't I count?"
  • The manual recount is set to begin with 50 people working in seven-hour shifts to count every ballot by hand.

Statistics:

  • 462,657: The total number of ballots cast in Palm Beach County.
  • 10,361: The number of "undervotes" ballots on which the counting machines indicated no choice for the presidential race.
  • 50: The number of people who will work in seven-hour shifts to count every ballot by hand.
  • 7: The number of hours each person will work in the counting process.
  • 5 p.m.: The deadline set by Secretary of State Katherine Harris for the county to certify its election results.

Sources:

  • The New York Times, "Palm Beach Officials Decide to Recount Votes by Hand"
  • Associated Press, "Florida Supreme Court Allows Manual Recount of Palm Beach County Votes"