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Bush Lead Widens But Court Bans Victory Party
by Patrick Moser
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AFP) - A key Florida official was poised Saturday to confirm overseas votes that tripled George W. Bush's lead over Al Gore in the state vote, but also respect a court ban on declaring who won the state - and thus the disputed White House race.
The announcement from Secretary of State Katherine Harris - the state's top election official - is scheduled to come just two days before the Florida Supreme Court rules on whether any final tally must include manual recounts that Republican Bush fiercely opposes, but Democrat Gore believes will make him the 43rd U.S. president.
The Supreme Court barred Harris from certifying the results here before a 2 p.m. (1900 GMT) Monday hearing to consider each side's arguments over recounts ongoing or pending in key Democratic strongholds.
But Harris - a staunch Bush loyalist who had planned to anoint the Republican candidate as the winner - said in a written statement that the Texas governor, who had a 300-vote edge in county totals she certified on Tuesday, received 1,380 overseas ballots to the vice president's 750.
Bush's lead over Gore grew to 930 votes thanks to overseas absentee ballots, the state's top elections official said Saturday.
The final Florida results will not be certified until the state Supreme Court rules on whether manual recounts currently under way should be included.
Eleven days after voters went to the polls November 7th, the Texas governor and vice president each still need the state's 25 Electoral College votes to reach the magic number of 270 that unlocks the doors to the White House.
"The election is not over yet. It is not particularly useful to announce results while votes are still being counted," Hattaway said of Harris' plan to forge ahead before the absentee ballot announcement.
Meanwhile, the Bush camp ratcheted up its heated attacks on the accuracy and validity of the vote hand counts.
"Undertrained, fatigued human beings who are subject to biases, conscious and unconscious, and potential mischief" are conducting the "very flawed" tallies, Bush spokesman Tucker Eskew told NBC television.
Shortly before midday, two dozen members of trade unions, community and religious groups besieged Harris' office, loudly chanting "recount the vote."
"We're here today to express our support for the Florida Supreme Court decision to stop the clock on Secretary of State Katherine Harris and her rush to judgment about the election results," said Marilyn Lenard, the Florida head of the AFL-CIO, the largest U.S. labor federation.
As a lone Bush supporter strove to shout her down, a dog wearing a banner that reading "let the people be heard" walked past the demonstration.
After Harris relinquished center stage Saturday, all eyes were to turn to the Florida Supreme Court, made up almost entirely of Democratic appointees. What the Florida justices decide could pave the way for the paper war that could reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bush's top legal advisor, former secretary of state James Baker, served notice after the court's Friday decision that the Republicans may take their fight back to a federal court.
Gore, meanwhile stuck to his argument that the manual review is more accurate than the machine counts, and recounts that have consistently shown he lost the state.
"The citizens of Florida surely want the candidate who received the most votes in Florida to be determined the winner of that state," Gore said Friday after the ruling.
Gore's camp says that according to Florida election law, manual recounting of votes in very tight elections can be authorized at the local level.
The Bush camp however focuses on another section of the same law that spells out specific deadlines for all vote counting, and stipulates that the secretary of state can ignore any returns received after those deadlines.
Both Gore and Bush face increased public pressure to avoid being seen as the candidate that drags out the stalemate.
One survey published Friday showed 57% of U.S. residents feel it is important to bring the election dispute to an end quickly, while 40% still believe each side is entitled to a full hearing in court.
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