Confusion over the eventual outcome of the presidential election deepened as a Florida official set 5 p.m. today as the deadline for results, making it impossible to finish hand recounts requested by Vice-President Al Gore.
But a federal judge then refused the Bush campaign request to halt these recounts which are under way in three counties. The Gore campaign hopes to pick up votes in these mainly Democratic counties of Palm Beach, Broward and Volusia.
The Gore campaign has now joined with Volusia and Palm Beach in a legal action to prolong the recounts beyond today's deadline.
Vice-President Gore told reporters at the White House that "I would not want to win the Presidency by a few votes cast in error or misinterpreted or not counted and I don't think Governor Bush wants that either".
Whether Mr Gore or Mr Bush becomes the next President hangs on the result in Florida. Whoever is declared the winner in the state will get its 25 Electoral College votes and this will be enough to reach the 270 electoral votes required to be elected President.
It was a setback for the Bush campaign when Federal Judge Donald Middlebrooks rejected its legal action to stop the hand recounts.
The Bush attorney argued that there have already been several machine recounts and it would be unfair to have another count which is "selective, standardless, subjective, unreliable and inherently biased".
The Gore attorney argued that the hand count which consists in examining the holes punched in each ballot paper increased democracy and accuracy.
Judge Middlebrook, who was appointed by President Clinton, said he knew his decision would be appealed. "I am not under an illusion I am the last word on this, and I am rather grateful for this." His refusal of an injunction may be appealed by the Bush campaign.
However, there was a potentially more serious setback for the Gore campaign when earlier yesterday, Florida's Secretary of State, Ms Katherine Harris, declared that all the state's 57 counties must finish their recounts and certify the results to her by 5 p.m. today. "The process of counting and recounting the votes cast on Election Day must end," she said.
It will be impossible for some of the counties doing a manual recount, including Palm Beach, to finish by this deadline. This would be seen as helpful to Mr Bush whose narrow lead of about 400 votes in Florida is being reduced as the Palm Beach recount continues.
The Gore campaign attacked the deadline decision as illegal under Florida law. It also cast doubt on the impartiality of Ms Harris who is a Republican and has campaigned for Mr Bush.
Mr Warren Christopher, who heads the Gore team in Florida overseeing the recounts, said: "We regard the action of the secretary of state, Ms Harris, to be arbitrary and unreasonable. It seeks to nullify and frustrate the hand count." If Ms Harris prevails, Mr Bush has a better chance of winning in Florida and thus the Presidency. He already leads narrowly in the machine recount in all the counties which Ms Harris has indicated she will accept as final later today.