dictionary

Federal appeals court to hear Bush challenge to manual vote recount

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed Wednesday to hear an appeal filed by lawyers for Republican presidential hopeful George W. Bush seeking to halt the manual ballot recounts in Florida on grounds it violates the Constitution's 14th Amendment.

The appeals court consolidated Bush's appeal of a Miami federal judge's decision to allow the recounts to proceed with another federal appeal out of Orlando also seeking to halt the manual recounts. The Orlando case was filed by three voters from Brevard County, Florida, on behalf of all Bush voters in the state, and alleged that Florida law enabled Democrat Al Gore to selectively seek a manual recount only in heavily populated, mostly Democratic counties.

WHO'S WHO Who's who in the election recount   ALSO Seigel v. LePore complaint and related pleadings View more documents related to the ongoing lawsuits in the Law Library

LEGAL RESOURCES Latest Legal News Law Library FindLaw Consumer Center Select a topic Bankruptcy Discrimination Divorce Estate Planning Landlord-Tenant Personal Injury Taxes

Bush's lawyers argued that allowing some, not all, Florida counties to recount ballots by hand violates the equal protection provisions under the 14th Amendment by giving Gore an unfair advantage in Democratic areas.

The 12 members of the 11th Circuit agreed to hear the matter. Both sides presented written arguments in the case this morning, but no hearing has been scheduled. Normally, a three-judge panel would hear such an appeal, but the court's decision to have all the justices hear the appeal appeared to be a time-saving measure.

In a 1986 ruling, the court ruled that federal courts "will not intervene" to examine the validity of individual ballots or supervise the administrative details of local elections. That ruling would appear to favor the Democratic position that the federal courts have no authority to stop the manual recounts.

The 11th Circuit's decision to hear the case comes on a day when the Florida Supreme Court was asked by the state elections official to ban manual recounts.

CNN Correspondent Bob Franken contributed to this report

Vote recount must continue past deadline, Gore camp says
November 14, 2000
With Florida court action reaching critical mass, a compromise may be in works
November 14, 2000
Judge grants injunction to freeze Palm Beach vote certification
November 10, 2000
Florida law provides variety of cures for problem elections
November 9, 2000
Reno says Justice Department keeping an eye on Florida election November 9, 2000
Justice Department discusses Florida election
November 8, 2000
Election Day allegations could form basis for legal challenges, experts say
November 8, 2000
Electoral win not a guarantee, no matter what happens in Florida
November 8, 2000

Florida Attorney General Web site
Florida law: Electors and elections
Florida law: Conducting elections and ascertaining the results

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.