Court says hand recounts go on

Both sides are hoping the court will help them secure victory

Florida's Supreme Court has rejected a request to halt hand recounts of ballots cast in the US presidential election, in a blow to supporters of Republican candidate George W Bush.

The state's highest electoral official, Secretary of State Katherine Harris, had asked the court to order a halt to ongoing manual recounts in some counties "pending resolution as to whether any basis exists" for their legitimacy.

Florida count

Bush leads by 300

Legal challenges

Florida Supreme Court:
Bush and Florida sec of state lose appeal against hand counts

West Palm Beach:
Democratic voters appeal over "butterfly" ballots.

Federal appeals court Atlanta:
Agrees to hear Republican appeal against hand counts.

Deadlines

Postal votes must be in by Friday

Electoral college vote 18 December

Inauguration 20 January

Mr Bush joined her request, while the campaign of Democratic candidate Al Gore called for a ruling on all the outstanding issues related to the hand recounts which it is backing in four counties.

Officials in three of the counties asked the state authorities on Wednesday for more time to conduct their manual counts.

Counting votes by hand is thought to favour Mr Gore, who has cut his rival's lead from almost 1,800 to 300 since recounting began, but the process is slow, potentially delaying the outcome of the presidential election beyond the weekend.

Whoever wins Florida is almost certain to win the White House.

Extra time

Electoral officials in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties met a 1400 (1900 GMT) deadline on Wednesday to explain why they should be allowed to file late results.

But in their written submissions, demanded by Ms Harris, all three counties asked for more time to complete hand recounts.

Ms Harris, a leading Florida Republican, has the power to reject the recounted results if she considers the reasons for the recount are not strong enough.

Broward county officials said they did not expect to file until Monday 20 November.

Earlier, Democrat legal spokesman David Boies said he believed counting could go beyond Saturday, the date set by Florida state authorities to announce a final result.

"Now, we think even a Saturday deadline is an unrealistic deadline," he said on ABC's television's Good Morning America.

Legal wrangles

Christopher: Asking the court for clarification

Gore campaign representative Warren Christopher said that the state Supreme Court should take jurisdiction over the increasing number of lawsuits arising from the elections.

Specifically, he said, the court should determine:

• whether the hand counts should be accepted

• when they should be finished

• and what standards should apply during counting.

Recount starts

One of the disputed counties, Broward, has voted to go ahead with a manual recount, overturning an earlier decision.

This chaotic manual count in selective counties with no uniform standards cannot produce a fair and accurate count

Bush spokeswoman Karen Hughes

Over half a million votes cast in Broward County heavily favoured Al Gore in the initial count and a recount is believed likely to add votes to his total.

A judge considering a Democratic Party demand for the reconsideration of incorrectly punched ballot papers in Palm Beach ruled on Wednesday that so-called "dimple" ballots should not necessarily be excluded.

It is time to move ahead with what we all want, a timely count of votes

Gore spokesman William Daley

Judge Jorge Labarga said it was up to the county canvassing board, supervising the elections, to count or discard ballots with indentations that had not been completely perforated during the voting procedure.

Earlier Florida election officials suspended a manual recount in Palm Beach pending the judges decision.

Officials in Miami-Dade county have also voted not to proceed with a recount.

Gore hope

Mr Bush's narrow lead was announced on Tuesday by Ms Harris after a court-backed deadline expired for all Florida's 67 counties to declare their results.

She had given three counties - including Palm Beach County - until 1400 on Wednesday (1900 GMT) to explain why they believed manual recounts were still necessary.

Correspondents say the dispute in Florida could ultimately be referred to Washington, for a ruling by the federal Supreme Court.

Recounts have given Mr Gore a glimmer of hope - results of a manual recount in Volusia county filed just before Tuesday's deadline showed a slight swing to the vice-president.

Absentee vote

The absentee votes - not due to be counted until after a Friday deadline passes for their arrival by post - may yet provide another twist.

They are usually thought to favour the Republicans, as many postal voters have military connections.

But the newspaper USA Today says officials have already received significantly more votes than expected - more than 4,000 ballots, up from 2,300 in 1996.

Some observers believe the number has been boosted by Americans living in Israel who may favour the Democrats because of the presence of Joe Lieberman on the ticket.

Drama elsewhere

While the world's attention remains focused on Florida, other electoral dramas are being played out in states that could still have a bearing on the result:

• New Mexico - victory given to Mr Gore, then Mr Bush, then Mr Gore
• Iowa - Republicans may seek recount after a clerical error shrinks Mr Gore's narrow margin of victory
• Wisconsin - Gore ahead by less than 5,500 out of 2.5 million votes, amid allegations of multiple voting by students.
• Oregon - Gore's lead is only 4,233 votes out of nearly 1.4 million, and shrinking as postal ballots are counted.