Rival groups demonstrated noisily outside the Supreme Court yesterday as Americans waited for a ruling from the US Supreme Court which should decide if Governor George Bush has been legally elected in Florida or if Vice-President Al Gore should be allowed more recounts.
Whoever wins in Florida will also win its 25 electoral college votes and become president.
The nine judges heard 90 minutes of legal arguments yesterday from lawyers for both candidates, before retiring to deliberate.
Mr Bush, who has been certified the winner in Florida by a slender margin, is appealing against the decision last Friday by the Supreme Court in the state to order recounts of thousands of "under votes", which showed no vote for president when machine counted.
The US Supreme Court halted the recount the next day until it had heard the arguments and deliberated on the case. But five of the nine judges - in granting the injunction - said they believed that Mr Bush, who sought the stay, "has a substantial probability of success."
Observers believe that Mr Gore will have a good chance of overtaking Mr Bush's narrow lead in Florida if the recount is permitted.
If the recounts are refused, Mr Bush looks certain to be confirmed the winner in Florida and Mr Gore will be under huge pressure to concede.
The court is not expected to deliver an opinion before tomorrow, a court spokeswoman said early this morning.