Florida recount as election hangs on knife edge

Special report: US election race

 Result delayed until tomorrow
 Automatic recount in key state
 Gore will not concede defeat
 Gore leads popular vote

The Democratic candidate, Al Gore, refused to concede defeat to his Republican rival, George W Bush, today as the closeness of the crucial vote in Florida triggered an automatic recount in the state.

Election officials in Florida were ordered to begin a recount of nearly 6m votes in the stunningly close election for US president after the margin between George W Bush and Al Gore shrank through the night.

The final result is not expected until tomorrow at the earliest - although it may possibly be delayed by legal challenges.

Florida's secretary of state said the recount should be finished by the end of the day tomorrow (Florida is five hours behind Britain). Both national parties were sending teams of lawyers to monitor the recount. At last count, Mr Bush led Mr Gore by 1,655 votes in an unofficial Associated Press count with an unknown number of absentee ballots yet to be counted.

Mr Gore and Mr Bush were tied at 48% apiece in the national vote today. The pressure on the recount is intense because Florida, with its 25 electoral votes, is the state that will decide who becomes 43rd president of the United States.

With the vote difference less than 0.5% an automatic recount was triggered under state law.

The law allows 10 days to count outstanding overseas ballots as long as they are postmarked no later than election day.

In the 538-seat national electoral college - which decides the election - Mr Gore had 260 votes and Mr Bush 246 of the 270 needed to win. Florida has 25 electoral votes, so the winner of that state will capture the presidency. The remaining seven votes come from Oregon.

In the United States as a whole, the popular vote count was seesawing. The overall vote at 2.45pm GMT was:
Al Gore: Total 48,508,173 (48%)
George W Bush: Total 48,314,142 (48%)
Ralph Nader (Green): 2,639,700 (3%)
Pat Buchanan (Reform): 443,567 (0%)

In Austin, Texas, Mr Bush's spokesman, Don Evans, was downbeat as he addressed a crowd waiting for a victory speech. "They're still counting, and I'm confident when it's all said and done, we will prevail," he said.

"Unbelievable," sighed Mr Bush's adviser, Karen Hughes, after fielding a second call from Mr Gore in which he retracted his concession.

Earlier Mr Gore had called Mr Bush to congratulate him and then gone to the war memorial in Nashville, Tennessee, to make a concession speech. But instead, his campaign manager, William Daley, appeared before the crowd and said the race was not over.

"Until the results in Florida become official, our campaign continues," Mr Daley said to cheering supporters.

Turnout was surprisingly brisk, with many encouraged to vote by the tight race. The Committee for the Study of the American Electorate estimated that up to 53% of Americans cast ballots - more than voted in 1996, but fewer than in 1992.

If Mr Bush wins, the Republicans would control both Congress and the presidency for the first time in 46 years after retaining their grip on the two houses in yesterday's election.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, the first wife of a president to run for political office, won the New York Senate seat.

Mr Bush and his running mate, Dick Cheney, won in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North and South Dakota, North and South Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Mr Gore and his vice-presidential partner, Joe Lieberman, won California, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

In the battle for control of Congress, Republicans extended their six-year reign in the Senate and the House of Representatives.

In the House races, Republicans gained seats in Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York, but surrendered one in Oklahoma. Democrats needed eight new seats to win control.

Full results
Interactive: results state by state
Text: results state by state

Audio reports
Julian Borger with Bush (1min 46)
Duncan Campbell with Gore (1min)

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Analysis: why the loser takes it all
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Talk about it

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Official site: Al Gore 2000
Official site: George W Bush 2000
Official site: Ralph Nader 2000

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