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No. _______

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES _____________

Robert C. TOUCHSTON, Deborah SHEPPERD and Diana L. TOUCHSTON, Petitioners, and George W. Bush, Intervenor/Appellee (11th Cir.)

v.

Michael McDERMOTT, Ann McFALL, Pat NORTHY, Theresa LePORE, Charles E. BURTON, Carol ROBERTS, Jane CARROLL, Suzanne GUNZBURGER, Robert LEE, David LEAHY, Lawrence KING, Jr., and Miriam LEHR, in their official capacities as members of the County Canvassing Boards of Volusia, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, respectively; and Katherine HARRIS, in her official capacities as Secretary of the Department of State and as a member of the Elections Canvassing Commission, and Clay ROBERTS and Bob CRAWFORD, in their official capacities as members of the Elections Canvassing Commission, Respondents and Florida Democratic Party, Intervenor/Respondent.

______________

On Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit _____________

MOTION TO FILE PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI IN 8.5 x 11 INCH PAGE PROOFS ______________

Alan P. Dye James Bopp, Jr., Counsel of Record WEBSTER, CHAMBERLAIN & BEAN Heidi K. Meyer 1747 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. James R. Mason, III Washington, DC 20006 Richard E. Coleson Telephone: 202/785-9500 JAMES MADISON CENTER FOR FREE SPEECH Telecopier: 202/835-0243 BOPP, COLESON & BOSTROM 1 South 6th Street Terre Haute, IN 47807 Telephone: 812/232-2434 Telecopier: 812/235-3685 Counsel for Petitioners

Rule 29.6 Corporate Disclosure Statement

No parties are corporations.

MOTION TO FILE PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI IN 8.5 x 11INCH PAGE PROOFS

Petitioners Robert C. Touchston, Deborah Shepperd, and Diana L. Touchston, as

registered voters residing in Brevard County, Florida, respectfully request leave to file a petition

for a writ of certiorari in 8.5 x 11 inch page proofs (with printed copies to be filed shortly

hereafter as soon as is reasonably practicable).

Petitioners voted for George W. Bush in the national presidential election held on

November 7, 2000, in the county of their residence, Brevard County. In this action, Petitioners

challenge the constitutionality of the Manual Recount Statute, Fla. Stat. § 102.166 (2000), both

on its face and as applied to the statewide election for Electors, which was held on November 7,

2000, and to future statewide elections. The Manual Recount Statute allows a candidate in a

statewide election, as in this case, to request a manual recount of ballots cast in counties selected

by the candidate or the candidate's political party. Furthermore, the county canvassing boards

have absolute discretion whether to grant or deny the request for manual recount. This statutory

framework places at the disposal of partisan political candidates the means to dilute and debase

the votes of those voters who do not reside in the selected counties and who did not cast their

ballots for the candidate requesting the recount. The Manual Recount Statute creates a two-tiered

system that weights the votes cast in some parts of the state more heavily than votes cast in other

parts of the state. Accordingly, the Manual Recount Statute is unconstitutional under the Equal

Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

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Voters filed this action in the Middle District of Florida on November 13, 2000, seeking

declaratory and injunctive relief under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitu-

tion and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On November 14, the District Court held a hearing on and denied

Voters' motion for preliminary injunction. The same day, Voters filed a notice of appeal and

motion for injunction pending appeal, which the District Court denied. On December 6, 2000,

the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals denied Petitioners' motion for preliminary injunction

based on the plurality's contention that irreparable harm had not been demonstrated and refused

to reach the merits of Petitioners' constitutional claims. This Petition for Writ of Certiorari is

now before this Honorable Court.

In order to secure Petitioners' constitutional rights from being irretrievably vanquished, it

is imperative that the United States Supreme Court hear Petitioners' claims as soon as practica-

ble. In light of the need for extraordinary expedition and in order to secure a definitive judicial

resolution of this controversy in advance of December 18, 2000, when the Electoral College will

meet to select the next President and Vice President of the United States, it is simply not feasible

to file a certiorari petition that complies with the requirements of Rule 33. Petitioners therefore

seek leave to file their petition in 8.5 x 11 inch page proofs, with the understanding that printed

versions of the petition, complying with the requirements of Rule 33, will be filed as soon as is

reasonably practicable after the filing of the petition.

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Respectfully submitted,

Alan P. Dye James Bopp, Jr. WEBSTER, CHAMBERLAIN & BEAN Counsel of Record 1747 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. Heidi K. Meyer Washington, DC 20006 James R. Mason, III Ph. 202/785-9500 Richard E. Coleson Fx. 202/835-0243 Eric C. Bohnet B. Chad Bungard Justin David Bristol J. Aaron Kirkpatrick JAMES MADISON CENTER FOR FREE SPEECH BOPP, COLESON & BOSTROM 1 South 6th Street Terre Haute, IN 47807-3510 Ph. (812) 232-2434 Fx. (812) 235-3685 Counsel for Petitioners

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