-Caveat Lector-
Wednesday November 8 11:27 PM ET
Gore Wants to See 'Fairness' of Florida Poll
By Thomas Ferraro
NASHVILLE (Reuters) - Democrat Al Gore (news - web sites) vowed on
Wednesday to abide by the will of Florida voters, but said he first wanted
clear proof the vote count accurately reflected their choice in the closest
presidential vote in U.S. history.
``What is at issue here is the fundamental fairness of the process as a
whole,'' Vice President Gore said as a legal team headed to Florida to
represent him at a state recount and, aides said, prepare to challenge
suspected irregularities.
Republican George W. Bush (news - web sites) predicted on Wednesday
he will again finish on top and be declared U.S. president-elect. Florida,
where Bush's brother, Jeb Bush, is governor, was to announce the result of
its recount on Thursday.
But senior Gore aides said late on Wednesday that if the state does
declare Bush the winner, Gore will not promptly concede Florida and the
White House to him.
Instead, they said, the Gore campaign intends to move to challenge some
suspected voting irregularities in the state.
``We see the recount as a rubber stamp,'' said one Gore aide. ''They need
to recanvass to make sure they counted all the votes and look at all the
irregularities.''
One of the biggest gripes is the design of ballots used in the Palm Beach
area that critics say led some Gore backers to mistakenly vote for Reform
Party nominee Pat Buchanan (news - web sites).
``Pat Buchanan ended up with a more than 3,000 votes in Palm Beach,
and Palm Beach isn't exactly Buchanan country,'' a Gore aide said.
Tens Of Thousands Of Ballots At Stake
Former Gore chief of staff Jack Quinn told CNN the campaign had
received information that ``tens of thousands'' of votes intended be cast for
Gore were not counted in Florida.
``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 said, noting
that some people mistakenly voted for Buchanan, and others invalidated
their ballots by punching out two holes -- one for Buchanan and a second
for Gore.
Earlier on Wednesday, a group of citizens in Florida's Palm Beach county
filed suit, calling for a new vote. They charged that the ballot sheet was
confusing.
Gore made his first public comments on the too-close-to-call Florida
election returns -- which have prevented a new president-elect from being
declared -- in a brief statement he read to reporters at a hotel press room
near his campaign headquarters in Nashville.
``Because of what is at stake, this matter must be resolved expeditiously,
but deliberately and without any rush to judgement,'' he said.
Gore also said: ``Let me make my own resolve clear: No matter the
outcome, America will make the transition to a new administration with
dignity, with full respect for the freely expressed will of the people, and with
the pride in democracy that we are privileged to share.''
After his brief remarks, Gore, joined by running mate Joseph Lieberman
(news - web sites), promptly walked away from the podium, leaving
questions to campaign chairman William Daley, and former Secretary of
State Warren Christopher, whom the vice president put in charge of his
legal team.
Daley said they wanted to help ensure a fair and accurate recount and take
a look at possible voting irregularities.
A recount is automatic under Florida law because the vote on Tuesday
showed Bush defeating Gore by less than one-half of one percent.
Jeb Bush Promises Fair Recount
Florida Gov. Bush has promised a fair and open recount, and also
withdrew from the board that will certify the election result to avoid any
appearance of a conflict of interest.
Bush communications director Karen Hughes issued a statement on
Wednesday afternoon underscoring the Bush camp's expectation that the
recount would validate Bush's victory.
``We also expect that once this recount is complete, the vice president will
respect the will of the people of Florida,'' Hughes said.
Daley said Gore's legal team intends to ``gather facts and information''
before fully deciding how to proceed further.
But he said he expected the matter to be resolved ``well before'' Jan. 20,
2001, when a new president is to be inaugurated.
Daley said he expects once the process is completed in Florida, Gore will
be declared the winner in the state and the new president-elect.
He noted Gore drew more votes than Bush nationally, and, excluding
Florida, had more electoral votes than the Texas governor.
Gore spokesman Chris Lehane declined to say if the campaign would
accept the result of the recount, or if it was even considering taking the
case to court.
``I'm not ruling anything in or out,'' Lehane said. ``You have a legal process
in place and you need to follow that process.''
``I think it is important to note that Al Gore won the popular vote, and he won
it with a historically high number of votes for a Democrat,'' Lehane said.
``We are proud of the vice president and the campaign.''
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