Fla. Legislature Puts Bush Electors Plan on Hold

Dec. 13 -- With Al Gore ready to withdraw from the presidential race, Republican lawmakers in Florida are putting their plan to guarantee George W. Bush Florida’s 25 electoral votes on hold.

The GOP-controlled Legislature in Tallahassee had been pushing forward with an effort to appoint a slate of presidential electors pledged to cast ballots for the Texas governor when the Electoral College votes on Monday. But, with the vice president now set to address the nation at 9 p.m. ET tonight, Senate President John McKay has abruptly shifted gears, adjourning a special legislative session.

“Out of respect for the vice president, we will wait to hear his comments this evening before taking further action,” said McKay.

The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down the manual ballot recounts ordered by the Florida high court and Gore has suspended his contest of the state’s presidential election results, prompting Republicans legislators to wonder whether their unprecedented effort is now moot.

“We may have reached the point of finality,” said McKay.

The Question of Intervention

Before the full Senate recessed, the Ethics and Elections Committee voted 4-3 to approve a resolution that would have named a slate of 25 Bush electors. Hours before the nation’s highest court handed down its historic ruling late Tuesday night — a 5-4 decision that dashed the Democratic nominee’s hopes of winning the White House — the Florida House of Representatives voted 79-41 to pass their version of the resolution approved by the Senate committee today.

After the historic vote, House Speaker Tom Feeney — who had been the leading advocate of the controversial measure — said he hoped the Supreme Court would “render moot” the question of legislative intervention in the election dispute. Now, his counterpart in the Senate is deciding whether or not the high court’s 5-4 ruling against the recounts sought by the Gore campaign did exactly that.