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Supreme Court of Florida ____________ No. SC00-2431 ____________ ALBERT GORE, JR., and JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Appellants, vs. KATHERINE HARRIS, as Secretary, etc., et al., Appellees. [December 8, 2000] PER CURIAM. [OPINION SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND] We have for review a final judgment of a Leon County trial court certified by the First District Court of Appeal as being of great public importance and requiring immediate resolution by this Court. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(5), Fla. Const.1 The final judgment under review denies all relief requested by appellants Albert Gore, Jr. and Joseph I. Lieberman, the Democratic candidates for President and Vice President of the United States, in their complaint contesting. ================= FOOTNOTES: 1 The parties have agreed that this appeal is properly before this Court. ================= -2- the certification of the state results in the November 7, 2000, presidential election.2 Although we find that the appellants are entitled to reversal in part of the trial court's order and are entitled to a manual count of the Miami-Dade County undervote, we agree with the appellees that the ultimate relief would require a counting of the legal votes contained within the undervotes in all counties where the undervote has not been subjected to a manual tabulation. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion. I. BACKGROUND On November 26, 2000, the Florida Election Canvassing Commission (Canvassing Commission) certified the results of the election and declared Governor George W. Bush and Richard Cheney, the Republican candidates for President and Vice President, the winner of Florida’s electoral votes.3 The November 26, 2000, certified results showed a 537-vote margin in favor of Bush.4 On November 27, pursuant to the legislatively enacted “contest” provisions, Gore filed a complaint in Leon County Circuit Court contesting the certification ================= FOOTNOTES: 2 The appellants have alternatively styled their request for relief as a Petition for Writ of Mandamus or Other Writs. 3 See §§102.111 & .121, Florida Statutes (2000). 4 Bush received 2,912,790 votes while Gore received 2,912,253 votes. ================= -3- on the grounds that the results certified by the Canvassing Commission included “a number of illegal votes” and failed to include “a number of legal votes sufficient to change or place in doubt the result of the election.”5 Pursuant to the legislative scheme providing for an "immediate hearing" in a contest action, the trial court held a two-day evidentiary hearing on December 2 and 3, 2000, and on December 4, 2000, made an oral statement in open court denying all relief and entered a final judgment adopting the oral statement. The trial court did not make any findings as to the factual allegations made in the complaint and did not reference any of the testimony adduced in the two-day evidentiary hearing, other than to summarily state that the plaintiffs failed to meet their burden of proof. Gore appealed to the First District Court of Appeal, which certified the judgment to this Court. The appellants' election contest is based on five instances where the official results certified involved either the rejection of a number of legal votes or the receipt of a number of illegal votes. These five instances, as summarized by the appellants' brief, are as follows: (1) The rejection of 215 net votes for Gore identified in a manual count by the Palm Beach ================= FOOTNOTES: 5 See § 102.168(3)(c), Fla. Stat. (2000). 6 Bush claims in his brief that the audited total is 176 votes. We make no determination as to which of these two numbers are accurate but direct the trial court to make this determination on remand. ================= -4- Canvassing Board as reflecting the clear intent of the voters; (2) The rejection of 168 net votes for Gore, identified in the partial recount by the Miami-Dade County Canvassing Board. (3) The receipt and certification after Thanksgiving of the election night returns from Nassau County, instead of the statutorily mandated machine recount tabulation, in violation of section 102.14, Florida Statutes, resulting in an additional 51 net votes for Bush. (4) The rejection of an additional 3300 votes in Palm Beach County, most of which Democrat observers identified as votes for Gore but which were not included in the Canvassing Board’s certified results; and (5) The refusal to review approximately 9000 Miami-Dade ballots, which the counting machine registered as non-votes and which have never been manually reviewed. For the reasons stated in this opinion, we find that the trial court erred as a matter of law in not including (1) the 215 net votes for Gore identified by the Palm Beach County Canvassing Board 6 and (2) in not including the 168 net votes for Gore identified in a partial recount by the Miami-Dade County Canvassing Board. However, we find no error in the trial court's findings, which are mixed questions of law and fact, concerning (3) the Nassau County Canvassing Board and the (4) additional 3300 votes in Palm Beach County that the Canvassing Board did not. -5- find to be legal votes. Lastly, we find the trial court erred as a matter of law in (5) refusing to examine the approximately 9000 additional Miami-Dade ballots placed in evidence, which have never been examined manually. |
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