Meanwhile, officials in Palm Beach County began the tedious process of checking more than 4,500 ballots cast there in the Nov. 7 election. That recount was not expected to be complete before the pre-dawn hours today. Gore's campaign aides requested the new recount in Palm Beach and at least three other heavily Democratic counties in the hope that it would boost Gore's Florida vote total. Although Bush's latest move was intended to pressure Gore into dropping his election challenges, the day's events left the election result as muddled as ever. The outcome seems likely to remain in doubt until at least Friday, when Florida officials will count absentee ballots from overseas voters.
All options are open, of course.
But what'll be good for the country is to have this election over with so that the new administration can do the people's business. A machine recount showed that Bush carried Florida by 327 votes, according to results compiled by the Associated Press, but the results could change when the final absentee ballots arrive from overseas this week. Gore's camp denounced Bush's decision to go to court. Legal challenges Bush campaign officials acknowledged that taking the dispute to federal court could trigger a series of legal challenges in Florida and other states. At least eight Florida residents have filed lawsuits over the election, but the injunction request was the first legal action filed by either of the rival campaigns.