Fla. Legislature Puts Bush Electors Plan on Hold

Dec. 13, 2000 -- 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.

Yet McKay refused to call rule out a vote altogether, apparently fearing Florida’s decisive 25 electoral votes might still be in jeopardy because of the post-Election Day legal wrangling.

“My understanding is that a concession by the vice president or anybody else carries absolutely no legal weight,” said McKay spokeswoman Karen Chandler.

State Democrats, who had assailed the move as a partisan act, before the court’s decision, renewed their opposition today.

“I would urge us just to get out of town,” remarked Democratic Sen. Ron Silver.

Republicans say that is now up to to the vice president.

“Gore is the man of the hour,” said Senate Majority Leader Jim King. “He can set the tenor for what we do — If Gore makes it unequivocal, I’m out of here.”

Deadline Passes

At issue is Tuesday’s midnight ET deadline set by federal law for states to certify their presidential electors. Slates of electors from states that do not meet the now passed “safe harbor” cut-off date are subject to challenge in Congress if only one representative and one senator question their validity.

After Bush was certified as the winner of Florida’s election on Nov. 26, the state dispatched a list of electors loyal to the Texas governor to the National Archives in Washington. But state Republicans feared the validity of that slate — which includes Feeney and McKay — would be at risk if the election results were still being contested in court when the deadline passed. The 6 million Floridians who cast ballots in the presidential election, they argued, were in danger of being disenfranchised.

The Supreme Court, however, handed down its decision at 10 p.m. ET Tuesday night — two hours prior to the deadline.

The resolution passed by the House Tuesday and the similar measure postponed today by the Senate would reappoint the slate of Bush electors — a move that, according to Republicans, would guarantee Florida’s participation in the Electoral College and make the federal deadline for certification irrelevant.

In the unlikely event that Republicans leaders do decide to act, there will be little Democrats can do to stop them, given the GOP’s lopsided majorities in both chambers. Should the Senate pass its resolution, the House would have to vote second time because of minor differences in the two versions. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the Republican nominee’s brother, would not have to sign the concurrent resolution.

Responsibility or Partisanship?

During five hours of spirited debate, Republicans argued the Legislature has legal authority and a constitutional responsibility to safeguard Florida’s electoral votes.

“The 2000 election is spiraling out of control and we must stop it now,” said Rep. Paula Dockery. “It is time for us, the members of the Florida Legislature, to perform our solemn duty.”

But Democrats said it was Bush’s certified victory their rivals across the aisle were trying to protect.

“What we are about to do is unjust, it’s unnecessary, it’s illegal,” House Minority Leader Lois Frankel said minutes before the lopsided vote. “This is the ultimate partisan act because it’s a guaranteed win for only one candidate.”

In the end, only two Democrats joined all 77 House Republicans in voting for the resolution. Earlier in the day, a House Democratic amendment calling on the Legislature to “take no action to interfere with the lawful ongoing election process” was defeated, also on a 79-41 vote.

“Obviously, we made some history here,” remarked Feeney.

The Senate is set to reconvene at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.