Florida recount due tomorrow, but may not be decisive

10:30 AM

TALLAHASSEE, Fla - With the US presidency hanging in the balance, Florida's critical recount of votes may not be completed until mid afternoon Friday (NZT).

Clay Roberts, director of the Florida Division of Elections, said the only Florida ballots that were not counted in the election night tally of nearly 6 million votes were those cast by Florida-registered voters living overseas. They were required to have their ballots postmarked by election day.

Those ballots might take up to 10 days to arrive and to be added to the vote count, officials have said.

Texas Governor George W. Bush led Vice-President Al Gore by fewer than 1,800 votes in the election night count.

Roberts said it was not known how many overseas ballots were cast in this election, but in 1996 about 2,300 were received.

- REUTERS

Herald Online feature: America votes