## Facts

- The 2000 presidential election in Florida involved punch-card ballots and machine tabulation that produced alleged undercounts in several counties.
- Multiple county canvassing boards initiated or sought to complete manual recounts under Fla. Stat. § 102.166 (1999), asserting that machines failed to record votes discernible from the ballots.
- The Florida Secretary of State treated the statutory 7-day deadline for county returns in Fla. Stat. § 102.111 as effectively inflexible and announced she would not accept late amended returns absent “good cause.”
- County canvassing boards, joined by the Florida Democratic Party and Vice President Al Gore as intervenors, challenged the Secretary’s interpretation and sought inclusion of manual recount results in statewide totals.
- The Florida Elections Canvassing Commission and Governor George W. Bush, as intervenor, supported prompt statewide certification based on the statutory timetable.
- The Florida Supreme Court consolidated related matters and addressed (i) the scope of manual recount authority and (ii) whether the statewide certification process could accommodate recount completion.

## Issues

1. Whether “error in the vote tabulation” in Fla. Stat. § 102.166 includes machine undercounts where voter intent may be determined by manual inspection of ballots.
2. Whether Fla. Stat. § 102.111’s 7-day deadline is mandatory such that the Secretary may reject late amended returns from ongoing manual recounts and proceed to certification.
3. How election statutes should be construed when strict deadlines risk excluding legally cast votes.

## Decision

- The Florida Supreme Court rejected the Secretary’s narrow construction of “error in the vote tabulation” and held the statute permits manual recounts to detect votes not recorded by machines but ascertainable from voter intent.
- The court treated the 7-day deadline as directory in this context and held it should not be applied to prevent completion of good-faith recounts aimed at counting lawful votes.
- The court stayed statewide certification and ordered the Secretary to accept amended manual recount returns submitted through November 26, 2000, and to include qualifying recount results in the statewide totals.
- The court quashed the contrary administrative position and remanded for further proceedings consistent with its instructions.

## Legal Principles

- Statutory authorization for manual recounts to correct “errors in the vote tabulation” extends beyond machine malfunction to include systematic undercounting where a ballot review can determine voter intent.
- Administrative deference yields when an agency’s interpretation contradicts the statute’s plain meaning and undermines the election code’s vote-counting function.
- Election statutes are construed to protect the franchise; ambiguous provisions are interpreted to avoid disenfranchising lawful voters where reasonably possible.
- Statutory election deadlines, while serving finality and orderly administration, may be treated as directory when rigid application would exclude valid votes and defeat the election laws’ purpose.

## Conclusion

The Florida Supreme Court held that Florida’s recount statute permits manual recounts for machine undercounts measured by voter intent and that statewide certification could be delayed to accept amended recount returns through November 26, 2000, to reduce the risk that lawful votes would be excluded solely by deadline enforcement.


Palm Beach Cnty. Canvassing Bd. v. Harris, 772 So. 2d 1220 (Fla. 2000)