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NOVEMBER 21, 2000

The Supreme Court of Florida has begun meeting today in order to weigh the arguments made on the ongoing Presidential vote controversy.

Lawyers for Texas Governor George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore were questioned by the seven justices on several issues during the two-hour hearing on Monday. Their questions focused primarily on fairness, deadlines imposed by Florida election law, and how to resolve them with the ongoing manual recounts occurring in three counties.

When the justices will issue a ruling is not known. It may come today or next week, due to the Thanksgiving holiday. The deadline looming over them is the December 12 date, at which time the federal Electoral College would need to determine which candidate wins the state's 25 votes.

The court might let the recounts continue, which may take up to a week, but impose a set of deadlines and rules on which the counties must complete their work. Or they might rule that Secretary of State Katherine Harris is within her power to ignore those counts and go ahead and certify that Bush has won the state.

Get a Transcript of the Hearing:
Florida: Supreme Court Hearing (eMediaMillWorks 11/20)

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