December 11, 2000

Committees Vote To Name Electors
By David Royse / The Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- House and Senate committees voted Monday for resolutions that name a slate of 25 presidential electors loyal to Republican George W. Bush. The resolutions will next be considered by the full House and Senate as the GOP-controlled Legislature wades into the presidential dispute. The House meets Tuesday and the Senate on Wednesday, although neither chamber is required to vote on those days. One Democrat sided with the four Republicans as the House's Select Committee on Electoral Certification, Accuracy and Fairness voted 5-2 for the resolution. Rep. Dwight Stansel, a Democrat from a conservative district who was first elected in 1998, voted with the majority. The Senate's Ethics and Elections panel approved the slate 4-3 on a straight party-line vote.

Supreme Court Arguments Conclude
By Laurie Asseo / The Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court bombarded lawyers for George W. Bush and Al Gore with questions for 90 historic minutes on Monday in the case of the nation's contested presidential election. The justices set no timetable for a ruling on whether to resume a recount of Florida's questionable ballots. The court allotted 90 minutes for the oral arguments, which unfolded only two days after a 5-4 majority voted to stop the recount at least temporarily. Tuesday is the date for choosing presidential electors under a provision of federal law that shields them from challenge in Congress. Members of the Electoral College will cast their votes for president on Dec. 18.

Court Upholds Military Ballots
The Associated Press
ATLANTA -- An appeals court on Monday agreed with a federal judge who refused to throw out 2,400 of Florida's overseas ballots, mostly from military personnel, because they arrived after Election Day. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.s. Circuit Court of Appeals said the ruling by U.S. District Judge Maurice Paul in Gainesville, Fla., was consistent with recent comments by Florida's highest court about the workings of the absentee ballot law.

Overseas Ballots Find New Bush Votes
By Robert Tanner / The Associated Press
MIAMI (AP) - Election officials in two counties added 26 overseas votes for George W. Bush amid the weekend's aborted recount, re-examining discarded ballots because of a federal court ruling. The ruling, separate from the fight over statewide recount before the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, remains under appeal. Whether the votes will be added to the official count remains uncertain.

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Florida Legislators May Not Be Needed
By Steve Miller / The Washington Times
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- State legislative committees will convene today to consider reappointment of Republican electors with one question in the air: Is this session necessary? Sen. John Laurent explained that Republican lawmakers would probably end the session, "If the Supreme Court quashed what the Florida Supreme Court was doing, and if Gore conceded and we could get a bye in on all parties doing litigation by Tuesday. We don't want to sit back and have something come back in a week or two weeks that could undo the electors."

Divided Court To Hear Cases For Presidency
By Frank J. Murray / The Washington Times
A divided Supreme Court convenes at 11 this morning to hear lawyers for George W. Bush and Al Gore urge victory for their man in the landmark lawsuit that likely will decide which one is inaugurated 43rd president of the United States. Lawyer David Boies, who will argue the Gore case in place of Laurence H. Tribe, said defeat at the high court would be "the end of the road." The justices will hold an immediate conference after the 90-minute arguments end and may decide the case as soon as tonight, but likely no later than tomorrow.

Attention, Florida Justices
The Washington Times
The Florida Supreme Court can't say it hadn't been warned. Earlier this month the U.S. Supreme Court vacated one decision of the state's justices because they had overstepped their bounds in rewriting election laws more to their — and Al Gore's — liking. Apparently they didn't get the message.

High Court Gets Gore, Bush Briefs
By Laurie Asseo / The Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- In a case that could decide the presidency, George W. Bush's lawyers asked the Supreme Court on Sunday to reverse a Florida high court decision that ordered a recount of thousands of disputed ballots. Al Gore's attorneys told the justices that voters have the right "to have their ballots counted." The justices hear arguments Monday morning, the second historic session at the nation's highest court in the Florida case that has dragged the election into a month of overtime.

Bush, Gore Lawyers Clash at U.S. Top Court on Recount
By James Vicini / Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawyers for Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore battled on Sunday over hand counts of ballots in Florida, a day before a historic U.S. Supreme Court showdown that may finally decide the next president. In the last written arguments before the 90-minute session on Monday, Bush's lawyers attacked a Florida Supreme Court ruling that ordered recounts of tens of thousands of ballots, while Gore's lawyers said the decision should be upheld.

Electoral Deadline Still Untested In Court
By Will Lester / The Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Al Gore’s uphill bid for the presidency is running headlong toward an Electoral College deadline for states to certify electors, but the law is untested in court and some question whether that deadline will stand. Federal law specifies a state’s electors should be certified by Dec. 12 if that state’s choices are to be "deemed conclusive." Experts on the Electoral College admit they don’t know exactly what that particular language means, but they think meeting the deadline would make it tougher for Congress not to accept state electors as submitted.

Gore Claims 58 Votes
NewsMax.com
In a press statement issued in the wake of the Supreme Court stay, the Gore campaign said it was "disappointed" by the court's ruling. The Gore team is claiming that it had gained 36 net votes after just a few hours of counting in nine counties. At a press conference, Gore adviser Ron Klain upped that number, saying Gore had netted 58 votes in 13 counties.

Baker: Bush Was Gaining Before Supremes Halted Recount
NewsMax.com
GOP pointman James Baker suggested Sunday that President-elect George Bush was winning a statewide undervote recount ordered by the Florida Supreme Court Friday before the U.S. Supreme Court halted the process Saturday afternoon. Baker made the comment to CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "Late Edition."

Bush Searches For Top Liaison to Hill
By John Bresnahan and Susan Crabtree / Roll Call
Preparing for what is being viewed as a pivotal early decision for a prospective Bush administration, the names of a number of veteran GOP operatives are being floated to head the White House Office of Congressional Affairs. At least nine names have already surfaced as candidates for the post, but Texas Gov. George W. Bush (R) and former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney could face at least two difficulties in filling the liaison job.

A Supreme Blow For The Rule Of Law
Chicago Tribune
Saturday's vote by the U.S. Supreme Court to halt a subjective recount of ballots in Florida is a mighty blow for law and common sense. The 5-4 vote is the federal court's second repudiation within one week of the amateur Earl Warrens of the Florida Supreme Court. Their reckless leaps of illogic not only have threatened the integrity of the election, but also have risked tossing the nation into real turmoil.

Student Files Misconduct Complaint Against Judge in Bush-DUI Affair
The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Maine -- A Chicago law student filed a misconduct complaint against a Portland probate judge linked to the release of information about George W. Bush's 1976 drunken driving arrest in Kennebunkport.