Bush’s lead is below 1,000 in recount

Terence Hunt

Thursday, Nov. 9, 2000 | 11:18 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- George W. Bush's margin over Al Gore in make-or-break Florida dwindled to fewer than 1,000 votes today in a continuing recount that held the presidential rivals and the nation in agonizing suspense. Democrats said they would demand a follow-up recount by hand in four counties and support unspecified "legal actions."

"Technicalities should not determine the president of the United States," said Gore's campaign manager William Daley today as he announced the Democrats' plans at a news conference.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Janet Reno said there was no reason for federal authorities to "jump in" but pledged to review any complaint brought to her.

"We are not here to generate controversy," Reno, a former Miami prosecutor, said at her weekly news conference.

There was plenty of that already as Bush and Gore dispatched emissaries to Florida to protect their interests in a recount of all 67 counties, including a controversy over the design of ballots used in Palm Beach County.

An unofficial tally by the Associated Press showed that Gore had cut Bush's lead to 795 votes in Florida, with the recount complete in 45 of 67 counties.

Two senior advisers to Gore said the vice president was likely to seek a more formal, follow-up recount in Florida if the current canvassing failed to overturn Bush's election night lead, including a count by hand in at least some parts of the state.

And Republicans were talking of possible requests for recounts in Iowa and Wisconsin, two states where Gore won narrowly.

The winner of Florida stood to gain the state's 25 electoral votes -- and the keys to the Oval Office with them.

Nationally, nearly 48 hours after the polls closed, Bush had won 29 states for 246 electoral votes. Gore had won 18 states plus the District of Columbia for 255. New Mexico and Oregon were too close to call, but they mattered mostly for the history books. Neither man could gain the 270 needed for victory without Florida.

The popular vote reflected the nation's political divisions, as well.

With almost all precincts reporting unofficial results, Gore had 48,942,306 votes and Bush had 48,751,786 -- with just 190,520 votes separating them. Only three times before had a presidential candidate lost the popular vote but won the Electoral College, the last time in 1888 when Benjamin Harrison defeated Grover Cleveland.

Former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, tapped by Bush to represent him in Florida, told reporters he had seen neither allegations of fraud nor evidence of it. He said the controversial Palm Beach County ballots had been reviewed before the election by both campaigns, "and guess what, there were no complaints until after the election."

Since then, some voters have complained they may have mistakenly have voted for Pat Buchanan rather than Gore, as they intended.

Baker said he intended to meet privately later in the day with Warren Christopher, also a former secretary of state, deputized by the Gore camp to monitor the recount in Florida.

Christopher made no public appearances in advance of that session. But Daley addressed the issue of ballot confusion and ballots discarded because voters marked more than one candidate.

"Already citizens of Florida who believe their votes were discarded and did not have the opportunity to participate fairly in this process, they will go to court. And I would assume that the courts will take a serious look at what may be an injustice unparalleled in our history," Daley told CBS.

Three residents of Palm Beach County filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking a new election there, contending ballots in the county were "deceptive, misleading and confusing." A number of people said they accidentally voted for Buchanan rather than Gore because names and circles on the punch ballot didn't line up.

State election officials expected to complete the recount today, but said the results wouldn't be certified until at least Nov. 17. That's the deadline for ballots cast by military personnel and other Floridians overseas to arrive in the state.

Buchanan said on NBC's "Today" show, "When I took one look at that ballot on election night ... it's very easy for me to see how someone could have voted for me in the belief they voted for Al Gore."

"But both parties signed off on this particular ballot, and so I don't see how you can organize another referendum or another vote just for Palm Beach County," he said.

Bush urged a speedy resolution. When all is resolved, the Texas governor said Wednesday, he was confident that "I'll be the president-elect."

Gore said Wednesday the election must be resolved "deliberately and without any rush to judgment." Campaign manager Daley told CBS' "The Early Show" today, "We expect that at the end of this process (Gore) will be the president."

Near deadlock, Tuesday's election was one of the closest in history. Gore held a tiny lead in the national popular vote but he and Bush both were achingly close to the 270 electoral votes required to win the White House. Florida's 25 electoral votes would put either candidate over the top.

As Democrats searched for potential ballot abuses and questioned the motives of Florida's GOP secretary of state, Gore's staff said a legal challenge was one option.

Daley went further, telling CBS, "The citizens of Florida are the ones who will determine whether or not they want to go to court. ... I assume the courts will take a serious look at what may be an injustice unparalleled in our history."

Even before the recount, Gore's campaign was eyeing legal options for forcing a new vote in heavily Democratic Palm Beach County, where confusion over how to complete the ballots may have boosted Buchanan's totals.