thanks for joining us 
the arguments are done, the arguments that may well decide the presidency 
of course, that disputed florida recount issue, the u.s. supreme court is weighing what it herd heard today from attorneys for al gore and george w. bush, the issue, whether the supreme court in tallahassee overstepped its bounds when it ordered a hand recount of 42,000 vote throughout the state 
while both sides presented their oral arguments, protesters on the courthouse steps lot let their voices be heard 
they waved plaque ards with competing slogans 
the mood was decidedly more somber inside the courtroom 
attorneys on the republican side argued that florida's certified results, giving bush the win, should stand 
they also said the democrats are putting too broad an interpretation on determining the intent of the voters, based on the look of the ballots 
but justices scalia and souter questioned the bush team's own standardses on that issue 
it is part of your issue when there is nothing wrong that the machine doesn't count the ballots that it's supposed to count? 
that's correct 
detached the chads entirely and the machine has predicted does not count those chads when the instructions are not followed, there is nothing wrong? 
that's correct, this has been euphemistically referred to ballots where the system created by florida both with respect to the initial tabulation and the preferred system for the automatic recount in both those elections is to submit is it through mechanical, objective scrutiny that the initial count was done, and those are count those were not counted either because there were votes for more than one candidate, which would make them overvotes, i guess they are calling them, or they read as no vote which many people do 
many people do not vote in the presidential election even though they are voting for other offices 
as to the yun votes and as to the undervotes in which there is arguably some expression of intent on the the ballot that the machine didn't mick up, the majority of the florida supreme court says you're wrong 
they interpreted the statute otherwise 
are you saying here that their interpretation was so far unreasonable in defining legal vote as not to be a judicial act entitled in effect to the presumption of reasonable interpretation under article 2? gore's team has said the vice president will end his contest of florida's election if the court rules against him 
his attorneys did all they could to convince the justices that the recount is both legal and right 
justice anthony kennedy questions gore's counsel closely on whether florida's supreme court went too far 
cot legislature of the state of florida after this election have enatted a statute to change the contest period by truncating it by 19 days? 
without by without contravening the section which says that there should be no new law for the state of florida? 
could the florida supreme court have done what the could the florida legislature have done what the florida supreme court did? 
i think that it would be unusual, i haven't really thought about that request 
i they they probably could not because that would be a new law under section 5 
because it would be a legislative enactment as opposed to a screw decision interpretation of an existing law if fact, it would be a new law under the preclearance juris prudence, wouldn't it? 
if you go back to the state against japel, when the florida supreme court faced the same question as to whether that seven day period was an iron curtain that came down, the florida supreme court said it was not 
the florida supreme court said that had you to look as to whether there was substantial compliance nchl that case, three days was found to be substantial compliance 
that was the situation in which there was telephone notice, which was not adequate for certification 
it was then followed up if we assume the legislature would run kror contrary to the new law prohibation in the statute, wouldn't the supreme court did it if it does exactly the same thing? 
what i'm saying, your honor, it wasn't doing exactly the same thing 
it wasn't passing a new law, it was interpreting the existing law 
legal challenges over absentee ballots from martin and seminole counties could still change the election outcome 
lawyers filed written briefs with the florida state supreme court on whether to throw out 25,000 ballots 
democratic voters are appealing two rulings friday in which circuit court judges found that while republican election supervisors had not acted properly, there was no reason to discard the votes 
al gore is not a party in the suits 
florida state lawmakers are also holding election hearings today 
constitutional experts and members of the public will testify about whether the legislature should choose its own electoral college voters 
the republican dominated house and senate are holding special sessions to consider the matter 
republicans say the move is necessary to ensure florida is represented at the electoral college if the legal challenges continue 
democrats say the move is only to ensure the state goes to bush 
the full house is likely to vote on it tomorrow 
but republican senate leadership may delay a vote there until the supreme court