Three possible outcomes seem likely. First, the court could order that the manual counts under way in three counties should be allowed to continue and their results included in the official Florida returns, as Mr Gore wants. Second, the court could uphold Friday's lower court ruling by Judge Terry Lewis in Tallahassee to permit the Florida secretary of state, Katherine Harris, to certify the state's results, the course the Bush camp would prefer. There is a third possibility, under which the court allows the hand counts to continue, but defers a decision about including their new numbers in the certification. That would give both sides something less than outright victory.
Certification is by no means the end of the road, however.
Depending on the numbers, the loser could go back to court to challenge Ms Harris's decision, something which Mr Gore's lawyer, David Boies, clearly signalled last week was a possibility. Outside the courts, some elected Florida politicians are also rattling their swords in another move which could extend the timetable. Those comments raise the possibility that Florida Republicans could select their own electoral college members if the court process hands the state to Mr Gore. If Florida's 25 votes remained in question after December 18, the focus would then shift to Washington, where the newly elected Senate and House are due to meet on January 5 for what is normally a routine joint session to count the electoral college returns. By law, the session is chaired by the vice-president, Al Gore.