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Gore Asks US Supreme Court Not to Intervene in Florida Recount Dispute
Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore filed a brief to the US Supreme Court late on Thursday, November 23, asking the court not to intervene in the hand recount dispute in Florida.
Gore's lawyers filed the brief in response to the appeal by Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush on Wednesday asking the US Supreme Court to block manual recounts of the presidential ballots in Florida's three Democratic-leaning counties.
In court papers, Gore's lawyers urged the nation's highest court to stay out of the Florida election controversy, saying such interference would "diminish the legitimacy" of the presidential election.
They described Bush's request as a "bald attempt to federalize" Florida's legal and election process, saying he was asking the justices "to interfere with a task that has been expressly delegated to the state of Florida."
The filing also claimed that Bush's appeal contained false and "partisan accusations regarding the manner in which the Florida recount is proceeding."
The US Supreme Court justices could announce as early as Friday whether they will grant review to Bush's appeal.
Earlier on Thursday, the Florida Supreme Court refused Gore's request to order Miami-Dade County to resume hand recount of ballots, dealing a blow to his effort to cut into Bush's lead in Florida.
In response to the ruling, Gore's lawyers said he will contest election results from the county and will not concede defeat even if Bush was ahead in votes that are certified by the Sunday deadline.
Miami-Dade, the most populous county in Florida, decided on Wednesday to stop the hand recounting of all the votes cast on the grounds that it can not finish the work before the deadline set by Florida's Supreme Court. The first two days of counting yielded an extra 150 or so votes for Gore.
The Democratic campaign filed an emergency petition with the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday morning, seeking to force the county to continue the recount.
Vice President Gore lags behind Texas governor Bush by 930 votes in his bid for the 25 Electoral College votes, which will determine the winner for the White House.
A total of 270 electoral votes are needed for US presidency. Apart from Florida, Bush carried 29 states for 246 electoral votes while Gore won 19 states plus the District of Columbia for 262 electoral votes.
Bush and Gore are fighting for the 25 Electoral College votes in Florida which will decide the outcome of the US presidential election held earlier this month.
Gore Not to Concede Election Results
Vice President Al Gore will not concede presidential election results even if his Republican rival George W. Bush was ahead in votes by the Sunday deadline, his lawyers and spokeswoman said on Thursday, November 23.
Gore's lawyers said the vice president will file a contest of the election in Miami-Dade no later than Monday.
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