Contrary to claims being made this morning by the Bush campaign, this election is not over. Again, we want the true and accurate will of the people to prevail, and that means letting the legal system run its course. If at the end of that process, George Bush is the victor, we will respect that result.

For now, however, there are a number of reasons why it is premature to declare this election over.

First, votes have yet to be recounted by hand in Palm Beach or Volusia counties. This hand count process will begin in the coming days. Further, a request for a vote count by hand in Broward and Dade counties is still pending.

Second, the overseas ballots have not been counted. It's likely that there are more than enough oversea ballots to make up the scant difference between these two candidates.

Third, Florida's Secretary of State, Katherine Harris, has said herself that this election would not be completed for some time.

Fourth, as I mentioned yesterday, serious questions have been raised about Palm Beach County. There many voters who believed they were voting for Al Gore had their votes counted for Pat Bucanhan. In addition, there were more than 19,000 ballots cast in Palm Beach County that were not tabulated at all because voters - confused by the ballot - apparently punched two holes instead of one.

Again, we want to be clear about what is at stake here. The Presidency of the United States should not be determined by technicalities. It needs to be determined by the will of the people.

November 7, 2000 Presidential Election Comments
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