Y AGREEING TO HEAR arguments in the Florida vote-counting case, the United States Supreme Court has raised the hope that it will bring some finality and legitimacy to this year's presidential election.
This hope has grown steadily in the week since the justices agreed to hear the case, as each succeeding day has seen the parties become more polarized. The nation needs this campaign to be elevated above self-interested partisanship. Since no group has been able to achieve that, the Supreme Court may indeed offer not only the best hope, but - with 11 days left until presidential electors are to be named - quite likely the last.
Even so, the central issue to be argued before the court today will likely not be decisive. The court may have to intervene again. For now, it is best for the court to do whatever it can to encourage the accurate counting of as many Florida votes as possible.
Initially, the court said it would take Governor George W. Bush's appeal of the Nov. 21 Florida Supreme Court ruling that prevented a premature state cutoff of hand recounts in several counties.
In our reading, the Florida court did not write new law but ruled sensibly on a conflict between two statutes. It was powerfully persuasive on the specific legal points involved, on the manner it reached its conclusions and, most important, on the overriding principles.
After hearing an unusual 90 minutes of argument today, the US Supreme Court may well conclude that no substantial federal issue has yet been raised. It may allow the partial recounts that occurred prior to certification or rule them out. But even if it does the latter, this would not necessarily prevent the post-certification contests now pending in the Florida courts from going forward.
If these contests are still in a jumble by Dec. 12, the court may have to act again. For now, the best it can do is encourage speedy resolution of the contests.
In so doing, the court, instead of overturning the Florida jurists, would do well to adopt their perspective.
The Florida decision twice quotes the first substantive lines of the state constitution: ''All political power is inherent in the people.''
This has been interpreted in Florida to give a strong preference in favor of counting every legitimately cast vote that can be counted, even when minor breaches of the law or regulations occur.
Laws designed to effectuate democracy's basic franchise - the right to vote - should not be used to deny that very right. If the Supreme Court underlines that principle, it will do the nation a badly needed service.
