The deadline is clearly written in state law. So Harris set out a list of criteria and decided, based on those criteria, not to accept any more late votes. The Democratic appointee upheld Harris' decision. The Florida Supreme Court was not entirely making it up. The court also had to obey the state Constitution, and to be mindful of precedent.
Judges have to juggle conflicting laws every day.
And so on. So on Nov. 21, given all these circumstances, the state court ordered a longer period for finishing the recounts. It was creative, but not radical. In a different case nobody would have blinked twice. The court's Dec. 8 ruling to resume a statewide recount, dramatic as it was, also had a basis in law.