Florida votes must be counted says Gore

3:30 PM

WASHINGTON - Casting himself as a defender of democracy and the Constitution, Democrat Al Gore asked voters for patience on Tuesday while he contested the presidential vote in Florida, but Republican George W. Bush ignored his rival and plowed ahead with plans to take over the White House.

With polls showing his public support was falling, Vice President Gore appeared on TV for a five-minute address to explain why he was contesting Florida's official certification of Texas Gov. Bush as winner of its 25 electoral votes - and therefore of the presidency.

"This is America. When votes are cast we count them. We don't arbitrarily set them aside because it's too difficult to count them," Gore declared, stating his position that there still had not been a fair and complete count in Florida, where Bush was declared the winner yesterday by 537 votes.

"I believe our Constitution matters more than convenience. So, as provided under Florida law, I have decided to contest this inaccurate and incomplete count, in order to ensure the greatest possible credibility for the outcome," the vice president added.

Accusing Republicans of intimidation to prevent a full count, Gore declared: "A vote is not just a piece of paper. A vote is a human voice, a statement of human principle, and we must not let those voices be silenced."

Polls have shown around 60 percent of Americans, including around a third of Democrats, think it is now time for Gore to concede the election to Bush. His appearance was clearly designed to shore up his base for the legal challenges he has launched in Florida.

Bush's strategy is to move ahead with his transition, headed by his vice presidential running mate Dick Cheney, while orchestrating maximum pressure on Gore to abandon the struggle.

Republican sources said among Bush's first personnel announcements would be retired Gen. Colin Powell, almost certainly as secretary of state, and Condoleezza Rice in the post of White House National Security Adviser.

But those announcements are not expected immediately while the legal battle still rages.

Gore said his fight was not personal but was a battle to defend a basic principle of democracy. "Ignoring votes means ignoring democracy itself. And if we ignore the votes of thousands in Florida in this election, how can you or any American have confidence that your vote will not be ignored in a future election?" he said.

Gore's lawyers challenged the Florida certification in papers filed in Tallahassee, the Florida state capital, saying the count improperly included illegal votes and excluded legal ones in Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Nassau counties.

In another development, the Florida Supreme Court said it would examine briefs relating to the so-called "butterfly ballot" used in Palm Beach County, which some voters said was confusing and may have led some Gore supporters to vote for conservative Pat Buchanan by mistake.

The court set a deadline of 11 am Wednesday (NZ Time) for submissions, after which it would decide whether to hear full arguments on whether the election should be rerun in the county.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments about the validity of hand recounts on Saturday (NZ Time), which gives Gore a short window of opportunity to pursue his challenges.

But he has to combat a growing sense of inevitability that Bush will become the next president on January 20, 2001

- REUTERS

Herald Online feature: America votes

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