51.   Had those ballots been counted, many believe Hornsby would have won because historically in this area, Democrats have been the beneficiaries of absentee ballots.

52.   He said not all the ballots had been counted and that a recount by hand should resume.

53.   However, since ballots are counted by hand, in an extremely close race the results may not be known until Thursday or Friday.

54.   If these ballots had been counted, perhaps the networks who projected Gore the winner the first time would have been right after all.

55.   In addition to those counting the ballots, the operations center was packed with Republican and Democratic observers, lawyers and the occasional fast-food delivery man.

56.   In fact, most ballots have been counted, by machine, but many have not been recounted by hand, which is what he is seeking.

57.   In another irony, Gore would have won under the strictest standard, in which ballots were counted only if a hole was cleanly punched.

58.   Instead the five justices should have been guided by the higher ideal of counting every ballot on which the intent of the voter could be determined.

59.   Instead, they argued, the only job of the court was to evaluate whether the county canvassing boards did their job correctly in counting the ballots.

60.   It could be a week before those ballots are counted.