Excerpts from the Florida Supreme Court ruling last night, as provided by the Associated Press:
''Twenty-five years ago, this Court commented that the will of the people, not a hyper-technical reliance upon statutory provisions, should be our guiding principle in election cases:
The real parties in interest here, not in the legal sense but in realistic terms, are the voters. They are possessed of the ultimate interest and it is they whom we must give primary consideration. The contestants have direct interests certainly, but the office they seek is one of high public service and of utmost importance to the people, thus subordinating their interest to that of the people. ...
''Courts must not lose sight of the fundamental purpose of election laws: The laws are intended to facilitate and safeguard the right of each voter to express his or her will in the context of our representative democracy. Technical statutory requirements must not be exalted over the substance of this right. Based on the foregoing we conclude that the authority of the Florida Secretary of State to ignore amended returns submitted by a County Canvassing Board may be lawfully exercised only under limited circumstances as we set forth in this opinion. ..
''Ignoring the county's returns is a drastic measure and is appropriate only if the returns are submitted to the Department so late that their inclusion will compromise the integrity of the electoral process ... To disenfranchise voters in an effort to deter Board members, as the Secretary in the present case proposes, is unreasonable, unnecessary and violates long-standing law. ...
''Accordingly, in order to allow maximum time for contests ... amended certifications must be filed with the Elections Canvassing Commission by 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 26, 2000, and the Secretary of State and the Elections Canvassing Commission shall accept any such amended certifications received by 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 26, 2000, provided that the office of the Secretary of State, Division of Elections is open in order to allow receipt thereof. If the office is not open for this special purpose on Sunday, November 26, 2000, then any amended certifications shall be accepted until 9 a.m. on Monday, November 27, 2000.''
''...It is so ordered. No motion for rehearing will be allowed.''
Associated Press
Excerpts from Vice President Al Gore's statement regarding the ruling, as provided by eMediaMillWorks Inc.:
''The Florida Supreme Court has now spoken and we will move forward now with a full, fair, and accurate count of the ballots in question.
''I don't know what those ballots will show. I don't know whether Governor Bush or I will prevail, but we do know that our democracy is the winner tonight....
''I want to thank the citizen volunteers, no matter their political party, also the public officials involved in the canvass, all these people who have given enormous amounts of time in an extraordinary effort. ...
''Now that we know the process will continue, I once again urge that Governor Bush and I meet to demonstrate the essential unity that keeps America strong and free. Together let us testify to the truth that our country is more important than victory. ...
''I completely disavow any effort to persuade electors to switch their support from the candidate to whom they are pledged. I will not accept the support of any elector pledged to Governor Bush.''
E xcerpts from former secretary of state James A. Baker II's statement regarding the ruling, as provided by eMediaMillWorks Inc.:
''Today, Florida's Supreme Court rewrote the legislature's statutory system, assumed the responsibilities of the executive branch, and side-stepped the opinion of the trial court as the finder of fact.
''Two weeks after the election, that court has changed the rules and has invented a new system for counting the election results. So one should not now be surprised if the Florida legislature seeks to affirm the original rules. ...
''All of this is unfair and unacceptable. It is not fair to change the election laws of Florida by judicial fiat after the election has been held. ...
''Therefore we intend to examine and consider whatever remedies we may have to correct this unjust result.''
