Recount Page #7

I don't care what Judge Burton says.

If he doesn't count dimpled chads,

we're gonna take him to court...

Baker on line one.

I gotta call you back.

What can I do for you, Mr. Baker?

I'm sorry to bother you, Mr. Klain,

but I was surprised to hear

you joined Volusia County's lawsuit.

Well, I figured that was the easiest way

to get your autograph, sir.

Unfortunately, Mr. Klain,

I shall not be attending the hearing.

That is a shame, sir,

because I was going to put you

right between my Sandy Koufax

and my Spiro Agnew.

I was sad to hear that Secretary Daley

and Secretary Christopher

left Tallahassee.

Will you be leaving too?

No, sir, I'll be here until

the Vice President fires me again.

Then I should tell you you're probably

gonna lose tomorrow.

That's certainly one

of two possibilities.

All right, Mr. Klain.

I just wanted to say hello.

You call back anytime, Mr. Baker.

He's gloating.

He thinks we're gonna lose tomorrow.

I think we're gonna lose tomorrow.

We are gonna lose tomorrow.

All right, so who's the best

appellate lawyer in this country?

And if you're just joing us, to recap

the major news of the day...

A Florida judge, Terry Lewis, coming out

about an hour and a half ago

and through a statement

read by a spokesperson saying that

the State of Florida does not have

to accept those manual hand recounts

currently taking place

in Broward and Palm Beach County

- and in other counties that might be...

- Ron Klain's on the phone for you.

And if she believes it's the best thing

for the State of Florida...

Hi, Ron, to what do I owe this pleasure?

This is not a final setback, but a

big blow for the democrats and Al Gore.

Mr. Boies...

- Yes, ma'am.

- Now that the deadline is here

and the absentee ballots have pushed

Bush's lead to around 900 votes,

is Gore going to change his strategy?

The strategy is the same. Al Gore

is just trying to get votes counted.

The very fact that Katherine Harris

wasn't willing to accept ballots

counted after the deadline,

even though all the absentee ballots

hadn't arrived yet

makes it crystal clear that

she's trying to do everything she can

to stop new votes from being counted.

What do you think?

- He's tough.

- You have to be tougher.

David Boies can destroy a witness

and make you think

he's a great guy while he's doing it.

His 20-hour Bill Gates

deposition is already legendary.

I heard he never uses notes.

He's dyslexic,

so he has to memorize everything.

Let me be clear...

Judge Lewis's decision isn't the

triumphant victory for Katherine Harris

that her people are claiming.

She stated that she can't accept ballots

counted after the deadline

unless there was a hurricane

and Judge Lewis said

that this was incorrect,

that regardless of the weather,

the law clearly states

that she can accept late ballots,

that it's her decision.

And if she wants

to reject legally counted votes,

she has to come up with

an actual reason for doing so.

Shouldn't I just ignore

Judge Lewis and certify tonight?

- No, Katherine.

- This deadline is in a few hours.

Katherine, this is a court order.

- You must obey it.

- He's right, Katherine.

The judge said you have to come up

with a reason to reject late ballots,

so we have to come up with a reason...

You know, something that shows

you didn't just reject them arbitrarily.

Why don't I just ask the counties

to tell me why

I should give them more time?

Sh*t, Katherine, that's good.

We just ask 'em.

I like it.

In accordance with

Judge Terry Lewis's ruling,

I have sent a letter to the counties

asking them to explain why I should

allow ballots counted

after the deadline

to be included in the final tallies.

The counties must respond in writing

by 2:
00 tomorrow.

On the advice of legal counsel,

I won't be answering any questions.

- You need to tell us what's going on.

- We need to know the truth.

...has been made fun of

on "Saturday Night Live,"

a lot of ridicule. Time Magazine

referred to her as Cruella de Vil...

After careful consideration,

I am denying the counties' requests

to include ballots

counted after the deadline.

The final tallies will be certified

tomorrow evening.

On the advice of our legal counsel,

I won't be answering any questions.

Well, that's not surprising.

So do we try to get the Florida Supreme

Court to stop her from certifying?

I don't think they'll grant us a stay.

The Florida Supreme Court just issued

a stay to stop the certification.

- Are you kidding me?

- No, I'm not.

And get this...

Al Gore didn't even ask for one.

The Florida Supreme just went on

ahead and gave it to him.

All right, people, listen up.

We got ourselves a fired chief of staff,

a lawyer who can't read his notes

and seven Florida justices to face,

who I may have mentioned... I'm not sure

if I did... Are all liberal democrats.

I think it's time for our supporters

to exercise

their first amendment rights.

- If Gore does not receive the ruling...

- Katherine Harris claims that

ballots counted after the deadline

cannot be included...

Gore-inch,

make sure you hold that sign up high.

Exactly.

Gore-nac, this is your bit.

Hold that up to your head and say,

- "I call this vote..."

- I call this vote for Gore!

Gore is a crybaby.

I want a recount!

Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw

have bald spots!

Peter Jennings and Tom Brokaw

have bald spots!

The Gore campaign says further

legal actions are still on the table,

but officials privately concede

an adverse ruling

from the state supreme court

would deal a fatal blow

to the Gore campaign.

At the completion

of the machine recount,

the difference between

the two candidates was 327 votes.

Under Florida law, the trailing

candidate in a race this close

is entitled to request hand recounts

in individual counties.

If they had completed the recount by

the deadline, there would be no issue.

Unfortunately, they did not.

Therefore the recount cannot continue.

Who knows how many votes

could've been counted

had Katherine Harris

not mistakenly claimed

there had to be an error in the system?

The Secretary of State

was just following the law.

We implore the court to set

specific counting guidelines.

Voters are supposed

to follow instructions

that are inside

each and every voting booth.

They clearly state

that the ballot must be punched

through completely.

Dimpled chads must be included

in this standard

because they represent a voter's intent.

These issues of dimples

and chads are exactly why

we believe hand recounts

are inherently flawed.

Doesn't the current process in Texas,

signed into law by your client,

state that hand recounts

are preferred over machines,

and dimpled chads should be counted?

I really don't know what Texas law is.

Good evening.

My name is Craig Waters.

I'm going to read the ruling

that was issued by this court.

The Florida Supreme Court,

in its unanimous opinion,

has reversed the circuit court ruling.

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