-Caveat Lector-
Thursday November 9 2:56 AM ET
U.S. May Have Long Wait for White House Outcome
By Andrea Shalal-Esa
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Florida officials on Thursday are due to finish
recounting 6 million votes that will decide who won Tuesday's U.S.
presidential election, but legal challenges could delay any victory parties for
some time.
Republican George W. Bush (news - web sites) and Democrat Al Gore
(news - web sites) are both projecting confidence that they will ultimately
capture Florida's 25 electoral votes and clinch the presidency.
Behind the scenes, both men are already busy at work plotting how to run
the White House and shape their cabinets.
In Florida, each of them has teams of lawyers sifting through the results of
Tuesday's roller coaster election night ride, with Gore aides hinting broadly
that they will challenge suspected voting irregularities in the state.
Former Republican Education Secretary William Bennett told CNN he
feared a long legal battle over the results.
``With all due respect for the legal profession, the thought of two
secretaries of state and 60 lawyers coming on competing aircraft is not
one that encourages me that we're going to get this resolved quickly,'' he
said.
``Nation Braces for a Long Count,'' read the Washington Post's headline on
Thursday.
Bush Predicts Win, Gore Won'T Concede Right Away
Texas Gov. Bush assured Americans on Wednesday he would be their
next president once Florida officials had completed the automatic recount
mandated under state law because his margin of victory was so small --
just over 1,700 votes.
A few hours later, Vice President Gore said the election should be settled
quickly -- without a rush to judgement -- and pledged to abide by the result
once it was clear.
But senior aides said the vice president would not immediately concede
Florida and the White House to the Texas governor, given mounting
questions about balloting in the state, which is run by Bush's younger
brother, Gov. Jeb Bush.
Both sides dispatched former secretaries of state and teams of lawyers to
oversee the recount in Florida, whose 25 electoral votes are crucial for
victory by either candidate.
Bush sent former Secretary of State James Baker, while Gore sent former
Secretary of State Warren Christopher.
In Tallahassee, Florida's state capital, Jeb Bush withdrew from the board
that will certify the election result to avoid even the slightest appearance of
a conflict of interest.
Gore aides fanned out on U.S. television talk shows, insisting that Gore --
who is leading in the popular vote -- would win Florida once the votes were
recounted.
They also hinted broadly at legal action about alleged voter irregularities
there, including efforts to suppress voting by blacks, ballot boxes left behind
at polling places and a confusing ballot sheet that had already prompted
some Palm Beach County residents to file a lawsuit calling for a fresh vote.
They said they mistakenly voted for the wrong man, possibly costing Gore
several hundred crucial votes.
Tad Devine, a senior Gore adviser, said it was critical to determine the real
winner of the Florida race.
``The legitimacy of the presidency is at stake here ... the sooner it's
resolved, the better for everyone, he told CNN's ''Larry King Live.''
Former Gore chief of staff Jack Quinn told CNN: ``We believe that as many
as tens of thousands of votes intended to be cast for Al Gore were not
counted for a variety of reasons.''
He also said that some people mistakenly voted for Reform Party nominee
Patrick Buchanan, and others invalidated their ballots by punching out two
holes -- the one for Buchanan and the one for Gore.
Could Take Until Nov. 17
Jeb Bush said the recount was due out at 5 p.m. EST Thursday. He
predicted victory for his brother, but said it could take until Nov, 17 to count
Florida absentee ballots, which might be needed to determine the
outcome.
Independent analysts agreed Bush, holding an advantage of around 1,800
votes in the Florida race, was more likely to emerge the victor unless Gore
or other Democrats decided to challenge numerous allegations of electoral
irregularities.
Gore actually won the nationwide popular vote -- by around 175,000 out of
almost 100 million cast.
But the popular vote is irrelevant since U.S. presidential elections are
decided by the Electoral College, on a state-by-state basis which came
down to Florida.
Although the odds seemed to favor Bush, nothing was clear.
Clay Roberts, director of the Florida Division of Elections, said the only
Florida ballots that were not counted in the election-night tally were those
cast by Florida-registered voters living overseas who were required to
have their ballots postmarked by Tuesday.
Those ballots might take up to 10 days to arrive and to be added to the
vote count. In 1996, about 2,300 such ballots were received.
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