ALLAHASSEE - After 51/2 hours of debate in which speakers cited the Federalist papers, the Bible, and such orators as Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., the Florida House yesterday approved a second slate of presidential electors pledged to George W. Bush.
It was a display of overwhelming partisan strength by the Republicans, but one that by the end of the night had been overtaken by events: the reversal by the US Supreme Court of the decision by the top court in Florida to allow further recounts.
The Legislature had been racing to act, fearing a delayed or inconclusive court decision that they believed might have called into question the standing of Florida's 25 presidential electors.
In the House, the vote was 79-41, with two Democrats from conservative, pro-Bush districts breaking ranks to side with the body's Republican majority. ''The 2000 election is spiraling out of control, and we must stop it today,'' said GOP Representative Paula Bono Dockery.
Meanwhile, the Florida Supreme Court also acted to clear away some legal underbrush in the more than month-old presidential election dispute, rejecting the appeals of two circuit court cases. Democratic voters in Martin and Seminole counties had complained that local Republican officials illegally completed some 2,500 absentee ballot applications. That act, Democrats argued, made it necessary to invalidate all 25,000 absentee ballots cast in the counties.
Not so, said the high court in a pair of 6-0 decisions.
''In doing so, the court does not in any sense condone the irregularities noted by the trial court in the way applications for absentee ballots were handled,'' said spokesman Craig Waters, reading a statement from the court. ''However, these irregularities do not require the voiding of all absentee ballots.''
Both actions focused attention on the Florida Senate, which was expected to approve the alternate electors today, and the US Supreme Court, which late last night ruled that the Florida Supreme Court erred in ordering a statewide manual recount of thousands of ballots in Florida.
The Republican-controlled Senate was set to begin up to eight hours of debate at 1 p.m., although the US Supreme Court ruling might make further action unnecessary. The House may also have to take a revote tomorrow, because the Senate may make minor wording changes in their joint resolution.
House leaders said more than 40 lingering lawsuits justified their action yesterday, in which they approved a duplicate set of electors supporting Bush in case the slate certified by officials on Nov. 26 is challenged in Congress.
Over the course of the debate, Democrats complained Republicans were not seeking protection for their state's 25 electoral votes but for a guaranteed victory for Bush and future favors from his brother, Governor Jeb Bush of Florida, a fellow Republican. They urged the legislature's majority not to enter the electoral fray.
''Let's be frank,'' said Representative Kenneth Allan Gottlieb, a Democrat. ''It's about who gets the best seat at the inauguration, who gets the spoils and a Cabinet position, who gets control of our nuclear weapons.''
Representative Lindsay M. Harrington, a Republican, countered that Florida's original slate could be rejected by Congress. It was sent to the National Archives nearly two weeks after the Nov. 14 deadline that had been specified by state election law. The Florida Supreme Court had ordered Secretary of State Katherine Harris to wait until Nov. 26 so manual ballot recounts could be conducted.
''In order to insulate the Florida electors from potential challenge, we must approve this resolution,'' Harrington told his colleagues.
Despite the partisan break, both sides were civil to the point of politeness during their debate, trading argument periods and granting each other small extensions in their time allotments so members could finish their statements.
The remarks drew from history and personal experience. The speeches were the first for those of the chamber's 63 freshmen who spoke. The new members elected Nov. 7 were sworn in Nov. 21.
''We don't know who each other are, and here we are making one of the most important votes, I think, any legislature is ever going to make,'' said freshman Democratic Representative Dan Gelber. He said the House should await the US Supreme Court decision, which could allow recounts of ballots where no vote for president was recorded, perhaps giving a victory to Gore.
''I don't think anyone here believes we are better-suited or able to navigate these legal matters,'' Gelber said.
Representative Cindy Lerner said there was ''no honor'' in her first vote. The Democrat added, ''I believe our actions today only contribute to the chaos.''
House Democratic leader Lois J. Frankel asked at one point, ''Are we protecting our electors, or are we protecting electors of a certain candidate?'' Just before the vote, she concluded, ''This is the ultimate partisan act, because it's a guaranteed win for only one candidate.''
Two fellow Democrats, Will S. Kendrick and Dwight Stansel, said they voted for the alternate slate largely because it was what their constituents wanted.
Republicans said they were not protecting Bush but the six million Florida voters who cast ballots. They said without a backup slate, which was identical to the one certified Nov. 26, Congress might reject Florida's 25 electoral votes.
Representative Mario Diaz-Balart, a sponsor of the measure, said, ''If we don't pass this resolution, we may very well witness the disenfranchisement of every single Floridian.''
Representative Nancy Argenziano said: ''This whole election swamp is the result of uncertain votes. We should be and must be concerned with those certain votes, the ones where voters made their selection very clear and made them in accordance with the rules.''
House Speaker Thomas Feeney, the driving force behind the resolution, was Jeb Bush's running mate in his failed bid for governor in 1994. Feeney said he hoped the US Supreme Court ruling would remove any need for the alternate slate, although he also pledged to back a pro-Gore electoral slate if the high court explicitly ordered the House to respect new recounts and Gore wound up the winner in the state.
''Hopefully, the Florida Senate does not render moot what was done here today, but I hope the US Supreme Court does,'' Feeney said.
In a show of his control over the chamber, the speaker asked at one point to grant Frankel, the Democratic leader, five more minutes to speak. ''Members can vote how they please; I'm going to vote in favor of the motion,'' Feeney said, drawing chuckles from the floor.
In a voice vote, the House unanimously agreed to give Frankel the extra time.
