Cite as: 531 U. S. 98 (2000)
Ginsburg, J., dissenting
sovereignty, they would affirm the judgment of the Florida Supreme Court.
II
I agree with Justice Stevens that petitioners have not presented a substantial equal protection claim. Ideally, perfection would be the appropriate standard for judging the recount. But we live in an imperfect world, one in which thousands of votes have not been counted. I cannot agree that the recount adopted by the Florida court, flawed as it may be, would yield a result any less fair or precise than the certification that preceded that recount. See, e. g., McDonald v. Board of Election Comm'rs of Chicago, 394 U. S. 802, 809 (1969) (even in the context of the right to vote, the State is permitted to reform "one step at a time") (citing Williamson v. Lee Optical of Okla., Inc., 348 U. S. 483, 489 (1955)).
Even if there were an equal protection violation, I would agree with Justice Stevens, Justice Souter, and Justice Breyer that the Court's concern about the December 12 date, ante, at 110-111, is misplaced. Time is short in part because of the Court's entry of a stay on December 9, several hours after an able circuit judge in Leon County had begun to superintend the recount process. More fundamentally, the Court's reluctance to let the recount go forward—despite its suggestion that "[t]he search for intent can be confined by specific rules designed to ensure uniform treatment," ante, at 106—ultimately turns on its own judgment about the practical realities of implementing a recount, not the judgment of those much closer to the process.
Equally important, as Justice Breyer explains, post, at 155 (dissenting opinion), the December 12 date for bringing Florida's electoral votes into 3 U. S. C. § 5's safe harbor lacks the significance the Court assigns it. Were that date to pass, Florida would still be entitled to deliver electoral votes Congress must count unless both Houses find that the votes "ha[d] not been . . . regularly given." 3 U. S. C. § 15. The statute identifies other significant dates. See, e. g., § 7 (spec-
143
Page: Index Previous 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007