In Broward County, the standard for a countable vote has been loosened, over Republican protests. Now dimples count, not just two-corner chads. The county still hopes to finish its count by the end of Monday — but with ballots from 445 of the county's 609 precincts recounted by late morning, Gore had gained only 108 votes.
In Palm Beach County, the count stumbled on through Sunday with 197 of 531 precincts counted, but officials released no numbers, saying there were too many questionable ballots remaining. As of Saturday, 31 precincts had yielded 12 votes — for Bush. But with constant objections being lodged from both sides, canvassing board spokeswoman Denise Cote said meeting the previous Thanksgiving target was "extremely unlikely."
And for Republicans, signs that containment is indeed possible when it comes to the county's notorious "butterfly ballot" suits: Circuit Judge Jorge Labarga canceled a hearing on a Palm Beach revote, saying "the relief sought by the plaintiffs is not permitted by law." Even Labarga, however, expects an appeal.
Miami-Dade County finished Sunday running all 654,000 ballots through the machines again, weeding out the rejects and setting them aside for hand-counting by canvassing board members themselves (over Republican howls). The county is likely to be Gore's last best chance to catch Bush, if the courts and the polls give him the time: The county began hand counting Monday, and hopes to be done by December.
By the time the Florida Supreme Court rules, on Wednesday or Thursday, Broward will be done, Palm Beach will have some meaty numbers to divulge, and Miami-Dade may have at least an extrapolation-friendly sample. Depending on what that ruling is, Al Gore will have an opportunity to assess his chances of catching 930 — and his chances of surviving a fight over military absentee ballots that will certainly live to bruise him if he presses on through Thanksgiving.
And how much of a happy-ending feeling he might engender if he swallowed hard and simply declared the hand counts a fruitless use of the nation's time.