Text of Katherine Harris' remarks

By Compiled by Times staff writer

© St. Petersburg Times, published November 16, 2000

Text of remarks Wednesday by Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris denying county requests to add hand-counted ballot totals:

Good evening.

On Tuesday evening, I requested those counties contemplating manual vote recounts to submit a written statement to me of the facts and circumstances justifying any belief on their part that they should be allowed to amend their certified returns, previously filed by them in accordance with law.

All three counties, Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Broward, responded by the 2 p.m. deadline today, and I thank them. Copies of their responses have already been distributed.

Additionally, Collier County asked about the possibility of an amendment to their return, unrelated to the manual recount issue. A copy of that letter has also been distributed.

For the past week I have devoted a substantial amount of my time to issues surrounding the manual vote recounts. After Judge Lewis' decision yesterday morning, my staff and I, along with counsel, developed criteria appropriate to the exercise of my discretion under Florida law.

This criteria is clearly set forth in Florida case law. For the past six hours I have applied these criteria in deliberating upon the specific requests of the counties contemplating manual vote recounts.

As a result of these deliberations, I have decided it is my duty under Florida law to exercise my discretion in denying these requested amendments. The reasons given in their requests are insufficient to warrant waiver of the unambiguous filing deadline imposed by the Florida Legislature.

I have communicated this decision with these counties, in letters detailing the criteria I used in making my judgments and the application of these criteria to the stated circumstances. And copies of these letters are also available.

Because it is my determination that no amendments to the official returns now on file at the Department of State are warranted, the state Elections Canvassing Commission, acting in its normal and usual manner, has certified the results of Tuesday's election in Florida, including the presidential election. Copies of that portion of the certification related to the presidential election and the signature pages of the certification are also available.

As I've previously indicated, I expect that after the receipt, tabulation and certification of the overseas ballots by the counties, the state Elections Canvassing Commission will finally certify the presidential election in Florida on Saturday. The schedule, of course, is subject to judicial intervention.

In that context, I once again will be unable personally to answer questions. However, I have with me our general counsel, Debbie Kearning, and two of our outside counsel, Joe Klock and Donna Blanton, and I've asked them to remain behind to answer appropriate questions from you.

One final comment. I want to reassure the public that my decision in this process has been made carefully, consistently, independently and I believe correctly.

I'm very grateful for your patience and your understanding. Thank you and God bless.

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