Litigation rules, no surrender

TALLAHASSEE - United States Vice-President Al Gore's lawyers say he will contest election results from Florida's Miami-Dade County and won't concede defeat, even if Texas Governor George W. Bush remains ahead in votes to be certified on Monday (New Zealand time).

Meanwhile, Gore's lawyers argued in a brief filed with the US Supreme Court that the high court should stay out of the Florida election controversy, saying such interference would "diminish the legitimacy" of the presidential election.

The brief was in response to a request by the Bush campaign that the US Supreme Court bar the consideration of hand-counted ballots from two predominantly Democratic Florida counties. In court papers, lawyers for Democratic candidate Gore called the request by Republican candidate Bush a "bald attempt to federalise" Florida's legal and election process.

Earlier during yesterday's Thanksgiving holiday, the Florida Supreme Court refused to order Miami-Dade County officials to resume a handcount of its ballots.

Gore's lawyers said they would officially contest the Miami-Dade election results after the state certification of the presidential election expected at 11 am on Monday.

The Florida Supreme Court, in setting its deadline for vote certification, anticipated such contests and wanted to ensure there was enough time to consider them before the state's presidential electors are to be selected on December 12.

"Nobody should be surprised by this. We've been saying all along that we wanted a full and fair count and that's what we intend to see happen," said Ron Klain, a Gore campaign legal adviser.

Asked if that meant that Gore would not concede even if he lags in votes on Monday, Gore campaign spokeswoman Jenny Backus said that was correct.

"We want a full, fair and accurate count and the only way left to do that is to file a contest for Miami-Dade."

The Bush campaign had nothing to say about the legal developments yesterday. "It's Thanksgiving and we're not going to comment," Bush spokesman Ari Fleisher said.

The word from the Gore camp came as the ballot showdown with George W. Bush moved to the US Supreme Court, where Gore's lawyers were readying their response to a Bush appeal there. The Republican presidential candidate asked the justices to overturn a decision by the Florida Supreme Court that has allowed the recounts.

With Florida holding the balance in the closest presidential election in modern times, Bush's lead was a slim 713 votes - if the hand recounts are accepted. Florida's Secretary of State, Katherine Harris, has officially given Bush a lead of 930 votes.

Bush campaign spokeswoman Mindy Tucker brushed off the Gore appeal. "It seems Al Gore wants the court to keep extending the deadline until he can count the votes enough times to change the result," she said.

At stake are Florida's 25 electoral votes, which will determine the next President. Gore leads Bush 267 to 246 in the electoral vote tally with 270 needed to win.

The US presidency is not determined by the nationwide popular vote, which Gore won, but by the vote of the Electoral College, a panel which is to meet December 18. Each state - along with the district of Washington DC - sends three delegates plus an additional number based its population. In Florida and in all but two of the remaining US states, delegates are committed to choosing the candidate who won the winner-take-all statewide vote.

Adding to the election drama, Republican vice-presidential candidate Dick Cheney was reported to be recovering in hospital from a "very slight" heart attack - his fourth.

Bush also filed suit in a Florida court asking 13 counties with heavy military populations to count overseas ballots. Hundreds of ballots, many from military outposts, were rejected last week when Democratic lawyers urged county boards to scrutinise them.

- REUTERS

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