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4:40 p.m. December 1, 2000: Florida High Court Refuses to Order Immediate ‘Undervote’ Recount, Finds ‘Butterfly Ballot’ Legal

2000-12-01 4:40 p.m.

The Florida Supreme Court dismisses a petition from the Gore campaign to order an immediate recount of over 12,000 “undervotes” from Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties. “Undervotes” are ballots that did not register a choice for president when run through the machine counter. An hour later, the same court rules that Palm Beach’s controversial “butterfly ballot” is legal (see 7:00 a.m. November 7, 2000 and After and November 27, 2000). [US News and World Report, 12/13/2000]