November 26, 2000

Florida Official Declares Bush the Winner
By Paul Simao / Reuters
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Reuters) - Florida's election officials declared Republican George W. Bush the winner of the state's disputed presidential vote on Sunday, but Democrat Al Gore's legal team moved to contest the results which, unless overturned, would make Bush the next president of the United States. In a brief ceremony in Florida's state capitol, Secretary of State Katherine Harris and the two other members of the state canvassing commission signed the returns declaring that Texas Gov. Bush had defeated the vice president by 537 votes.

Bush Is Certified Winner in Florida
The Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida's secretary of state certified George W. Bush the winner over Al Gore Sunday night in the state's near-deadlocked presidential vote – but court challenges left in doubt which man will be the ultimate victor and 43rd president of the United States. Republican Katherine Harris announced that Bush had edged Gore by 537 votes out of 6 million cast in the Nov. 7 election. Her declaration ignited celebration from Bush supporters outside the state capitol in Austin, Texas. Her declaration: "Accordingly, on behalf of the state elections canvassing commission and in accordance with the laws of the state of Florida, I hereby declare Governor George W. Bush the winner of Florida's 25 electoral votes," Harris said.

Palm Beach Stops Count for Deadline
By Karin Meadows / The Associated Press
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Palm Beach County officials halted their manual recount with as many as 1,000 questionable presidential ballots unchecked Sunday after Secretary of State Katherine Harris refused a request for an extension of time. "The secretary of state has apparently decided to shut us down with approximately two hours to go," said Charles Burton, head of the three-member canvassing board. Board members have been meeting in virtually round-the-clock session the past two days in hopes of completing a recanvass of thousands of questionable ballots.

Fla. Count Draws Gore, Bush Closer
By Walter R. Mears / The Associated Press
Florida's secretary of state prepared to certify the votes cast for George W. Bush and Al Gore in the near-deadlocked election that would determine which of them becomes 43rd president of the United States. But the struggle went on, the vote numbers under challenge even before they were declared. The votes were due in the office of Secretary of State Katherine Harris by 5 p.m. EST, a deadline set by the state supreme court. Sixty-six counties had them ready before that hour; in the 67th, Palm Beach County, canvassers kept recounting against the clock. Harris denied Palm Beach County an extension until Monday to judge questionable ballots.

Palm Beach Seeks Extension Of Vote Count Deadline
CNN.com
The last Florida county still recounting votes by hand -- Palm Beach --is asking for an extension of a 5 p.m. EST deadline to turn in its tally. The request is being submitted to Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris. The midday development came as the county rushed to finish its recount but fell behind schedule. George W. Bush's unofficial lead over Al Gore, meanwhile, has dwindled to 408 votes. Harris plans to certify the election results sometime after 5 p.m. EST Sunday, the deadline set by the state Supreme Court for hand recount results to be turned in to her. An announcement of certified results is expected no sooner than 6 p.m. EST.

Palm Beach County Tries To Complete Count
By Tom Hopkins / United Press International
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (UPI) - The Palm Beach County canvassing board worked through the night into Sunday to complete a recount after Broward County finished its count, giving Democrat Vice President Al Gore a gain of 567 votes. Texas Gov. George W. Bush led unofficially in the statewide count and there was little indication the Palm Beach County recount would give Gore enough votes to overtake his Republican opponent. Going into the day, Bush had a net gain of 10 votes in Palm Beach County.

Palm Beach Board Asks for More Time
By Marcy Gordon / The Associated Press
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - With only hours remaining before a state deadline to submit recounted vote totals, weary Palm Beach County elections officials Sunday asked for another day to finish their work. The three-member canvassing board worked through the night to go through the hundreds of disputed presidential ballots still remaining to be recounted before Florida declares a winner. But with 1,800 to 2,500 ballots still to go, they asked for additional time.

Canvassing Board Determined To Finish
By Joel Engelhardt / Palm Beach Post
After all the recounts, all the protests and all the court challenges, the presidential election comes down to this: Can Al Gore find 489 votes by 5 p.m. today in the dents and dimples of Palm Beach County ballots? An unofficial tally by both parties had Gore gaining 94 votes with about 440 of 637 precincts counted in Palm Beach County. Officially, the canvassing board has released counts from only 305 precincts, with George W. Bush showing a net gain of 12 votes over Gore.

Gore To Contest, Attack County's Recount
By Joel Engelhardt / Palm Beach Post
In a strong indication that the Democrat campaign's desperation level is rising, lawyers for Al Gore spoke openly Friday of contesting the recount results in Palm Beach County -- the Democrat bastion they once thought would allow them to carry Florida. While that puts the Gore campaign in the awkward position of challenging the very recount it demanded, Democrat lawyers are aggressively pursuing it because the manual recounts in South Florida aren't likely to give the vice president enough votes to offset Texas Gov. George W. Bush's 930-vote Florida lead.

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