Florida Law on Deadlines and recounts

[Richard D. Friedman]

I suppose that's right -- it sounds like has to get in a first
certification in by Tuesday to act as a place-holder.  But I can't see any
good reason why it shouldn't be allowed to come in with more accurate
information later, especially given that the final count can't be made
until after the absentee votes come in on Friday.  But do I gather the
Tuesday deadline was passed without taking the 10-day period for absentees
into account?

Rich Friedman

At 01:23 PM 11/13/00 -0500, you wrote:
>At 11:32 AM -0500 11/13/00, Michael MASINTER wrote:
> >For those interested, here is the Florida statute upon which the Florida
> >secretary of state relied for her insistence upon the 5:00 Tuesday
> >deadline for certification of the vote from each county.  The statute
> >governing recounts is too long to post; here is a link:
> >http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Se
> arch_S
> >tring=&URL=Ch0102/SEC166.HTM&Title=->2000->Ch0102->Section%20166
>
>Sec. 102.166(4)(b) of the statute governing re-counts provides: "Such
>request [for a manual re-count] must be filed with the [County] canvassing
>board prior to the time the canvassing board certifies the results for the
>office being protested or within 72 hours after midnight of the date the
>election was held, whichever occurs later."
>
>If you can request a recount AFTER the County certification might be filed
>but by midnight last Friday, or as late as 5 minutes before it must be
>filed at 5 pm on Tuesday, it would seem to imply that it is for the purpose
>of requiring that the County certification be amended, and suggests that
>the 5 pm Tuesday deadline for filing the then-current count is pro forma,
>and may be amended at least as late as Saturday when it must be
>supplemented with the final count of the absentee ballots. Is there another
>way to read it?
>
>John Noble