ALLAHASSEE - Racing against the clock, Al Gore asked a court yesterday to hasten the recounting of Florida ballots that could give him the presidency and pressed his attempt to stop the Legislature from awarding the election to George W. Bush.
The vice president's lawyers appealed to the Florida Supreme Court to force an immediate recount of disputed ballots from Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, some of which made their way to the capital yesterday in an intently followed caravan. The lawyers worry that if the ballots aren't counted by mid-December, it could be too late to contest the state certification that declared Bush the winner.
Last night, the Bush campaign released an extensive legal rebuttal of the Gore campaign's case for a recount in several counties. In court papers, it said the recount violates both the Florida and the US constitutions.
In addition, the papers said, neither Miami-Dade nor Palm Beach County had ever counted so-called ''dimpled'' ballots before the current election.
The Leon County Circuit Court, which is considering the matter in a hearing tomorrow, ''lacks the jurisdiction'' to grant the relief demanded by the Gore campaign, the papers said.
In addition, Republicans asked Judge N. Sanders Sauls of Leon Circuit Court to order an additional 1.2 million ballots brought to Tallahassee from Volusia, Broward, and Pinellas counties, said Bush campaign spokesman Scott McClellan. The judge has not yet considered the request.
Today, the two campaigns will make unprecedented arguments before the US Supreme Court, which will decide whether Florida's highest court erred when it allowed ballots to be recounted after a state-imposed deadline.
''I do think that we are getting close to the point where some of those votes will not be counted,'' Gore lawyer David Boies told reporters yesterday. ''We're getting to the point where the count has to start if all of the votes are going to be counted in a fair and accurate way.''
A lawyer for Bush, Barry Richard, denied that the GOP was using dilatory tactics. ''We're only running out of time to do things the Gore campaign would like to do,'' he said.
While the legal challenges to the Florida election remained tangled up in the courts, the Republican-controlled Legislature readied for a special session to name its own electors to the Electoral College. That move brought verbal and legal protests from the Gore campaign, which is hoping the US Supreme Court's ruling will stymie the Legislature's effort.
''This action by the Florida Legislature really threatens the credibility and the legitimacy of the ultimate choice of electors in Florida,'' said Gore's running mate, Connecticut Senator Joseph I. Lieberman. ''It threatens to put us into a constitutional crisis.''
The tension in Tallahassee is reaching feverish proportions as judges, lawyers, and lawmakers prepare for what could be a decisive weekend in the courts.
Sauls is scheduled to hear arguments tomorrow on whether to recount ballots, and if so, which ones. But the count could start sooner if the Florida Supreme Court rules in Gore's favor today.
Sauls ruled yesterday that Judicial Watch, a conservative legal group, may witness the new recount, should it occur.
Action in several other court cases could also disrupt the election results. A trial begins Wednesday on whether some of the 15,000 absentee ballots filed in predominantly Republican Seminole County should be rejected.
Republican officials fixed errors on some absentee ballot applications, an act Democrats say should force the exclusion of those ballots. Bush lawyer Barry Joseph, echoing the assertions of Gore lawyers regarding ballots in Democratic strongholds, said the Seminole votes ''are valid and they ought to be counted.''
The Florida Supreme Court is also pondering whether to hear two cases challenging the ''butterfly'' ballots that some Palm Beach residents found confusing.
In a scene reminiscent of O.J. Simpson's world-watched trip in a white Ford Bronco on a California highway, 462,000 Palm Beach ballots made their way 450 miles north to Tallahassee in a rented Ryder truck. News organizations monitored the trek by helicopter, and police vehicles rode alongside the precious cargo. Another 600,000-plus ballots from Miami-Dade are en route today.
In Tallahassee, tempers flared when a GOP-controlled committee of the Legislature voted along party lines to recommend holding a special session to name its own electors to the Electoral College.
''What the hell is going on here?'' asked Senator Tom Rossin, a Democrat who opposes the special session. ''Is this America? Is this democracy? Is this the legacy we want for our children?''
Democrats in the Legislature and the Gore campaign accused the majority party of trying to give the election to Bush, brother of Florida Governor Jeb Bush. The Florida governor has a close relationship with his party in the Legislature; House Speaker Tom Feeney was once Jeb Bush's running mate.
''Instead of trying to fix the problem, we will be perceived as trying to fix the election,'' warned Democratic Senator Rod Smith.
Legislative leaders have the authority to call a special session themselves, without the approval of its members. While Feeney said yesterday he expected to make an announcement ''within the next several days,'' lawmakers said they fully expect a special session to happen early next week.
The Select Joint Committee on the Manner and Appointment of Presidential Electors recommended that the Legislature take action ''as soon as is practicable.''
''There appears to be a significant risk that all of Florida's votes might be disenfranchised if the Legislature does not act,'' said Republican Senator John Laurent.
The Gore campaign accused State House Republicans of being in cahoots with the Bush campaign, a charge GOP legislators denied.
The Gore camp also derided the involvement of Jeb Bush, who had earlier recused himself from the election dispute involving his brother. This week, however, the Florida governor indicated he would back the Legislature's efforts to protect its 25 delegates to the Electoral College.
It is unclear whether the unilateral naming of electors would have to be signed by the Florida governor. If the measure is in the form of a resolution, some Republican legislators suggested, it could be adopted without putting the governor in the politically awkward position of signing a bill that effectively makes his brother president.
''It could damage the governor'' if the Legislature names its own electors, said Al Cardenas, chairman of the state Republican Party. ''I don't think it's particularly helpful to him right now.''
But Cardenas insisted that ''it would be right for [Jeb Bush] to participate. ''Is it right for the governor to step away from our interests in this republic?'' Cardenas asked.
Privately, Gore's aides said the Legislature's action could help him in the arena of public opinion. If Americans think the Republicans, aided by Bush's brother, are unfairly influencing the election, the public might be more patient with Gore's challenges.
Lawyers and legislators disagree on the ''drop dead date'' to name electors. Some say it must happen by Dec. 12, the day the names of Electoral College representatives are supposed to be selected and sent to Congress.
That deadline is only important for electors named as a result of an election, say some specialists, including a lawyer for the Florida Senate. The Legislature would have until Dec. 18, the day the Electoral College meets, to name electors if Florida's election has officiallly ''failed'' to produce a result, said Senate attorney Roger J. Magnuson.
Democrats warned that the Legislature's expected action would only end up in the courts, further entangling the process.
Democratic state Senator Betty Holzendorf, saying that she wants Gore ''to win with every bone in my body,'' said she wouldn't attend the special session because the deck was stacked in Bush's favor.
''I'm not boycotting,'' she said. ''I'm just not coming.''
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
